What Comes Around
by Belle Cerise
Summary: After spending two years away on a special mission, Sakura is under strict orders to return home and regain her mental wellness before continuing her career as a kuniochi. Back in Konoha, she purchases a small home on the quieter end of town only to come across the most unlikely neighbor and rediscovers an old friendship, and perhaps, something more. Semi-AU. KakaSaku.
1. Moving In, Moving On

Disclaimer: I do not own or claim to own anything whatsoever that belongs to the creators of the Naruto series.

A/N: First off, thanks for choosing to read my story! I have really enjoyed writing it so far & I wanted to share it with you all. I have given this story a Mature rating due to language & sexual content. Yes, I use the f-word in my writing and though this story does not contain extremely explicit, graphic, hardcore sex, I do write descriptive sex scenes when necessary. If you are neither comfortable nor old enough to read this type of material, this is my polite warning to you. Also, I am NOT a Naruto expert. I am admitting here and now that I absolutely do not know everything there is to know about the series, its characters, and its timelines. So, if you are an expert, expect to see some errors here and there. Some may be intentional, however, to fit the storyline. I am only mentioning this in hopes it will stave off some of the feedback about incorrect character history & whatnot. BUT, I am not discouraging in anyway constructive criticism. Reviews of all kinds are welcome! Anyway, that about covers it. Enjoy! :)

-BCerise

* * *

Sakura surveyed the conservative single bedroom house with pride as she placed one of her final moving boxes on the floor of her new home. It was cute and cozy in its own way, nestled comfortably in the downtown residential area of Konoha. She had picked it up at a decent price due to a few much-needed home improvements, but the independent kunoichi was a long time fan of DIY projects and she was thrilled at the prospect. Besides, these days, anything that kept her busy and her mind off of things was welcome.

Whistling a cheery tune to herself, she snatched up her keys to grab her last box and lock up the vehicle she had borrowed from a work friend. As she skipped down the front steps of her small porch, the sight of someone exiting the two story house next door caught her eye.

Eager to meet her new neighbor she paused to wave and call out a greeting, but her features froze in a half-smile when she recognized a familiar shock of silver hair. Kakashi?

Seriously? Her former sensei and teammate from years ago was her new neighbor?

"Sakura?" his low, even tone inquired before he leisurely crossed the short space between their front yards. It was surreal to see her old friend after so long. There was a time when they had all been close but those days had passed and were nothing but a fond memory for the bubblegum-haired kunoichi now that Team 7 had moved onto their adult lives and respective shinobi careers. It had been years since the last time she saw her former mentor.

Recently, she had been on a mission that kept her away in the mountains for almost two years. Over the summer, she had returned early to Konoha and began working full-time as a medic nin at the local hospital. Due to working practically around the clock and living in a pricy studio apartment near her work, she hardly ever strayed from the more urbanized upscale side of town. Because of this, it didn't surprise her at all that she hadn't run into the aloof Copy Ninja until now.

"Kakashi-sensei!" she gasped, the old title slipping habitually from her lips as her face broke fully into a smile.

"Yo," he replied casually, standing before her, his hands pocketed in a stance she remembered all too well. She was pleased to see the familiar crease beneath his exposed eye that meant he was smiling under his mask.

"I didn't know you were living here all this time!" For some reason, Sakura never thought of Kakashi having a home. Somehow, she always imagined him living in a cave or out in the trees like some crazy, ANBU ninja crap.

He shrugged.

"It's more like a storage unit. I really wouldn't call what I do here living," he replied cheerily and rather cryptically. "Moving in?" he asked, leaning over to peer up the steps and at the array of boxes and odd furniture that were visible through her open door.

"Yep!" she exclaimed proudly, reaching into the passenger's seat to retrieve her last box. "Just closed on the place yesterday!"

She turned and straightened to find Kakashi standing over her, his massive frame catching her slightly off gaurd.

"Let me help you with that," he said, lifting the hefty box out of her hands with ease before she could protest.

"Thanks.." she said, slightly breathless as she shut the car door. A strange feeling settled into her as she led the way into her new house. "So how have you been?" she asked, making casual conversation as they passed the threshold.

"Bored," he replied after a moment. "Tsunade thinks I pushed myself too hard on my last mission so she forced me to take some time off. I think that's just her clever way of telling me I'm old," he quipped. Sakura giggled at the comment, but knowing Kakashi, she was certain he almost died or something on his latest mission. Even when he was bleeding out and inches from death, Kakashi felt people were over-reacting about his state of wellbeing.

Setting the box on top of a random stack, he glanced around the empty living room area, taking in the peeling wallpaper and cobwebs that outfitted the dusty corners.

"So what made you buy this dump? Other than secretly knowing I live next door?" he teased, his one-eyed gaze flicking down at her. Sakura placed her hands on her hips and regarded him huffily.

"It's not a dump!" she exclaimed defensively. "It's just old and... loved," she replied happily, thinking of the past families that had probably occupied it for years.

"By what? Termites? Or squatters?" he asked, quirking a brow.

"Don't be a dick," she replied, swatting his arm playfully but she couldn't help the chuckle that escaped her. It was good to know Kakashi was still his same sarcastic asshole self and even after all this time, they could joke with each other like they'd never been apart.

"You haven't changed at all, sensei," she said before busying herself with tearing off the tape of a box labeled 'dishes'.

"You don't have to call me that. You're not my student, anymore," he reminded her, his tone slightly off. She couldn't quite place her finger on what was different about it.

Sakura glanced up at the older man standing a few feet in front of her. What was this odd feeling picking at her insides? Something like...nostalgia?

"I know," she said, suddenly feeling awkward. "Old habits die hard, I guess."

"Old habits, indeed," Kakashi repeated, his dark, visible eye piercing her as she looked him over. It was ridiculous how much he towered over her still. She supposed his height never registered to her much when she was younger, just chalking it up to him being an adult (to an extent) and her being a teenager. But now that she was older and considered his equal, their uncanny height difference left a much more imposing impression on her.

She found it sort of funny that Kakashi had been in his late twenties when she trained under him as a young teen, the age gap seemed so prominent then. But now, years later it hardly seemed existent. She was twenty-three now, making Kakashi... What? Mid-thirties? It didn't matter since he didn't look a day older than the day she met him.

In fact, the only thing that had changed about his outer appearance was his clothing, though it was still dark and conservative in nature and suited him well.

...wait. What was that last thought? Why did she think his clothes 'suited him'? Was she implying he looked good?

Sakura shook the out of place thought from her head and turned back to her box, suddenly unnerved and painfully aware of the fact they were alone and in close proximity.

She wasn't sure why it even mattered. She had been alone with him a hundred times in the past for various occasions during training and other jobs. What was so different about now? Wasn't she just laughing with him a moment ago like old times?

"I'd say you've changed," he spoke at last, breaking the tense silence. Was it a tense silence? Or was she just the one being weird all of a sudden?

"A lot or a little? I hope that's not a bad thing," she replied, avoiding eye contact and trying to keep her voice level and void of the unexpected emotions bouncing around inside of her.

"I'm not sure. I can't tell," he replied, leaning back and propping a foot up against the wall that separated the kitchen and living room, his hands characteristically buried in his pockets as he watched her.

"Why is that?' she asked between loosening bubble-wrapped stacks of plates from her box.

"You're wearing too many clothes," he replied non-chalantly. Her head snapped up, catching his half-lidded gaze immediately. His face remained utterly passive, as if he'd just said the most mundane thing in the world.

Sakura blinked at him, her cheeks heating slightly at the jarring comment.

"What?" she croaked after a moment, her heart hammering.

"I just mean, I can't see your body."

_Well, that clears things up._

Sakura glanced down at herself. This was a true statement, she supposed. It was early autumn and she was clad in a pair of jeans and a white pullover hoodie.

"I've heard of your accomplishments through colleagues. But when I heard about you returning to Konoha prematurely from your two year campaign abroad, I feared the worst."

"Feared the worst?" she repeated, still lost.

"I didn't want to see you return with some horrid injury. I just would hate to see the havoc the life of a jounin can wreak on a body, on the likes of you."

Sakura remained silent, taking in his explanation and lingering on his last words. She contemplated briefly all the possible hidden meanings that comment held but she forced herself to brush it off.

Seriously, what the fuck was her deal? It was totally uncalled for, for her to be reacting like this. Kakashi was a notorious flirt but never had he directed any such behavior toward her, so why should he now?

_You're not my student, anymore, _his words from earlier echoed in her mind.

_Stop it,_ she told herself. This was her Kakashi-sensei she was talking about! Her perverted, lazy old teacher that had demeaned her and poked fun at her endlessly for years! He had infuriated her and her fellow teammates countless times but still, he had grown on her and in the end, he was strictly an old friend, simple as that, if no longer a close one.

She rested an elbow on the precarious stack of boxes beside her.

"Well, here I am. Still in one piece," she replied, giving him an encouraging smile. She had to admit that it flattered her slightly to hear Kakashi had been keeping up with her progress as a kunoichi. But wasn't that what a former mentor was supposed to do?

"And what a fine piece, it is," he replied with a mischievous glint in his visible eye. "Seriously though, I know you missed me and all...but did you have to move in next door?" he teased.

"Oh, please. I did _not_ move in here just to be your neighbor," she said, rolling her eyes good-naturedly as she started on a new box.

"Are you sure about that? I'm almost positive there's a clear view of my bedroom from here," he replied, craning his neck toward the living room's far window. "And I've heard I like to sleep in the nude."

Sakura laughed aloud, her previous anxieties melting away. She was certain now that Kakashi had just been messing with her and she was taking things too seriously, like usual. She felt stupid about her earlier assumptions but she was relieved to feel more like herself again around her old friend. After a few more minutes of light-hearted conversation, Kakashi made his way to the door, claiming he had somewhere to be.

"Well, I'd like to break my kitchen in tonight, so you're more than welcome to come by and join me later for dinner, if you'd like," she offered sincerely. It would be nice to catch up with him some more since she was rather lonely these days. Naruto was getting married soon and Ino was really her only other close friend but she hardly saw her anymore, either, since she still lived downtown and worked the morning hospital rotations while Sakura worked the nights.

"It's a date," he replied with a smile and a wave before he was off. Sakura closed the door after him and moved to the window, unsure of why she was watching him walk all the way along the sidewalk before he disappeared around the corner.

Though unexpected, Sakura wasn't complaining about reuniting with her old aggravating but endearing teacher. He was like a breath of fresh air in her otherwise mundane civilian life and it was exciting and appreciated, to say the least. As she hummed to herself and unpacked kitchen utensils for that night, she dared to hope that things would be okay, after all.


	2. Butterflies & Bills

"So what's the deal with the house?" Sakura asked casually, flipping through the mail spread out over her coffee table. She glanced up at Kakashi from her cross-legged seat on the floor, who was picking through her small crate of tools, in search of a screwdriver to fit his task of hanging a shelf on her wall.

They had finished dinner a bit ago and Kakashi had opted to stay a little while longer and help her with a few menial move-in duties she hadn't gotten around to, yet. Her new neighbor had been over almost every night for the better part of the week, joining her for an evening meal or tea, claiming he had nothing better to do with all the free time of his mandatory leave. Sakura was thrilled to have the company and the assistance with moving in so she didn't complain.

"What do you mean?" he asked distractedly, using a tape measure and pencil to mark the wall where the shelf would go.

"Isn't that kind of a lot of space for you?" she asked, nodding in the direction of his neighboring home.

"Because I'm single, I can't have a house?" he asked over his shoulder. Sakura shrugged. She hadn't meant to poke at his relationship status.

"I just mean you're hardly ever around, anyway. You said yourself it was more like a storage unit. And I just figured when you were in town you stayed with other people," she mused aloud.

_Other women_, her inner voice chided. An odd flare of excitement shot through her at the thought. Sakura was no fool. As she got older, the reputation Kakashi had around town had eventually made its way to her and at first, she had been shocked to think of her teacher in such a different light. But over time, it made more sense to her as she took into consideration his naturally flirtatious personality and the way women were practically drawn to his mysterious, aloof manner like moths to a flame. Not to mention, his ridiculous obsession with _Icha Icha_. Even now, working with the number of gossipy women at the hospital, she still heard the stories and rumors of the infamous Copy Ninja's sex life.

Sakura suddenly wondered if she would become a part of this gossip if anyone found out about their nightly hang outs. No, that was stupid. Everyone knew of their history and it was common knowledge they were just friends. No one in their right mind would think she was sleeping around with her old teacher. ...Right?

Sakura's cheeks warmed slightly as she realized the inappropriate dip her thoughts had taken over the course of the past few minutes. Had she really just been thinking about Kakashi's sex life?

She dared to glance up at him, glad his back was still to her as he faced the wall. He had rolled his sleeves up just below his elbows and she watched the muscles in his forearms bulge slightly as he screwed the hardware into the wall. Her eyes traveled briefly up his pale neck, to the stark contrast of the dark blue tie of his forehead protector against the silver of his wild hair, before sliding approvingly over his broad shoulders and down his back that angled into a slender, fit waistline. Kakashi looked much slimmer without the bulk of his jounin gear but it was a nice change to see him in much more civilian-like attire.

Sakura quickly tore her gaze away when Kakashi turned to pick the shelf up off the nearby couch cushion. She stared blankly at the unfolded electric bill in front of her, trying hard to focus on it and mentally willing the heat in her cheeks to disappear.

Oh my god. She was seriously just ogling her teacher.

_No, no. He's not your sensei anymore!_ her inner voice reminded her fervently.

Sakura was unnerved when she realized Kakashi hadn't looked away in the corner of her eye. Had he noticed her staring? The thought only made her cheeks hotter.

As if he had read her mind earlier, he responded casually before returning to his task,

"Well, sorry to disappoint you, but I don't spend every night in Konoha between a woman's legs."

Sakura was stricken by the crass comment and she was grateful he faced away from her again as she struggled to regain her composure.

She cleared her throat lightly, aimlessly pushing her envelopes into a neater pile. Was it even worth it to deny that that was what she had been thinking?

"No... I guess not. I mean, you're not in bed with a woman right now," she replied obviously, just desperate to break the ringing silence his statement had left in the room.

"I could if I wanted."

"Could what? Spend every night with a girl?" she asked dumbly. Sakura knew the answer to that. Hell, pretty much the entire female population of Konoha knew that and would willingly be a part of it.

"I meant, I could be in bed with a woman right now," he said turning back to her unexpectedly. An exciting rush of tingles shot over her skin as his exposed eye burned into her own. Her stomach gave an uncomfortable jolt as she drank up the comment, unsure of how to process it.

Was she imagining it or was he coming onto her right now?

_No, stop it, you dumb hussy!_ her logical inner voice snapped. He was just responding to her earlier comment. There was no way he was insinuating he could be in bed with _her. _

That was certainly what he meant. Kakashi could be next door, busy with some fling, but instead, he was here, trying to be helpful and carry on an adult conversation with a decidedly immature former student. Sakura felt ashamed suddenly, disappointed in herself for acting so childish about the remarks. She was acting like a shy, inexperienced eighteen year old as opposed to the level-headed grown woman she was, or thought she was anyway.

"You like?" he asked, suddenly, breaking through her harried thoughts. It took Sakura a moment to realize he was referring to the shelf he had just finished hanging and _not_, in fact, himself.

"Yeah, thanks," she replied, offering him what she hoped was a natural looking smile. She couldn't figure out what had come over her. Why was she reacting so ridiculous to everything Kakashi said that even remotely resembled something sexual?

"Well, I think I'd better be off and leave you to your bills," he said abruptly, rolling his sleeves back down.

"Oh," Sakura said, unable to hide the disappointment in her tone. Maybe he had noticed her embarrassing behavior after all and thought it was best to just leave her alone. Her nightmare of causing Kakashi to think of her as a little girl still was coming true, and it was all her fault.

"Hey," she called out suddenly, rising and following him to the door as she remembered something. "Would you mind if I came over and did laundry after my night shift tomorrow? I haven't got any machines, yet."

His visible eye creased cheerily.

"Not at all, Sakura-chan. Mi casa es su casa," he replied, stepping out onto the porch. The crisp, evening air of fall crept jarringly beneath the thin layers of Sakura's clothes as she stood at the open door.

"Okay, thanks. Should I just, um, knock? Or..."

Kakashi shook his head.

"My door's always open for you," he replied furtively. Sakura could feel those damn butterflies kicking up in her stomach again. What was happening to her? This was seriously getting stupid.

Sakura simply nodded because she couldn't seem to get a word out otherwise.

"Well, sleep tight," she said after a moment because she didn't know what else to say.

"Oh, I'm not going to sleep. Though I am headed for bed," he replied.

"Huh?" she asked, perplexed.

"The night's young. There's still time to find a woman's thighs to spend it between," he replied with a mischievous wink. With that, he casually strolled off her porch and into the darkness, leaving Sakura to contemplate if he was joking or actually serious.


	3. Milestone

_A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews, follows, & favorites! I am so honored to see that readers have taken interest in my story. :) Anyway, I know as a medic nin Sakura has the ability to heal with chakra, but for the sake of this story, I like to think of her as more of a traditional field medic. With that being said, here's chapter three! Enjoy._

_-BCerise_

* * *

Sakura yawned sleepily as she hefted her basket of laundry against her hip, crossing her small yard and ascending the short set of steps that lead up Kakashi's porch. She reached out to rap on the door with her knuckles but hesitated when she remembered their conversation from last night.

She tried the doorknob and found it unlocked, just like he'd said. It was around 10 AM or so and she had just finished her fourteen hour graveyard shift at the hospital. She wanted nothing more than to get this load started and then head straight back to her house and crawl under the covers to sleep the day away.

Sakura glanced around at the unfamiliar interior, surprised by the unexpected cleanliness of Kakashi's abode. The furniture was simple and male and very impersonal: predictably Kakashi. Sakura almost thought it slightly sad that there wasn't a picture frame nor personal belonging in sight. She didn't understand how Kakashi could even call it a storage unit if he didn't have anything worth storing in it.

She passed through the small kitchen, that was eerily clean save for a couple rinsed dishes in the sink, to the laundry room at the back of the house. Sakura set to work at once, separating the colors and depositing them into the washing machine. Once the basin was loaded she struggled with the cap of her liquid detergent for a moment, before her thumb slipped, cutting it open on the sharp plastic edge.

Cursing colorfully under her breath she jammed her bleeding thumb into her mouth while she finished setting up the machine with her free hand. She hated it when she was sleepy like this, it made her so damn clumsy. Hitting the start button, the machine chugged into life before she went off in search of Kakashi's bathroom for a band aid.

She found the common one in the house, under the stairs off the living room but it was empty except for a roll of toilet paper and a half-used bar of soap next to the faucet.

_Men..._ she thought sourly. Sakura figured there must be a bathroom in Kakashi's master bedroom so she headed up the stairs to the far end of the hall.

The door was closed but she figured the Copy Ninja was probably out and about by now: it was late morning. She turned the knob and had just stepped through the door when a kunai came flying at her face.

Sakura threw herself to the floor just in time to dodge the deadly hurtling blade. As she hit the floor, she caught a glimpse of a messy-headed, shirtless Kakashi sitting up in bed.

"Jesus Christ!" she shrieked angrily. "What the fuck is wrong with you?!"

"Sakura!" he exclaimed. "Shit, I'm so sorry! I completely forgot I told you to come by and do laundry!"

Sakura sat up and rubbed her elbow that had collided painfully with the hardwood floor.

"You could have killed me!" she griped.

"Well, that _was _the intent. You arein my bedroom unannounced," Kakashi replied matter-of-factly. She wanted to smack him or yell at him again but he had a point. She wasn't even supposed to be upstairs and the realization quickly dampened her anger.

"What are you doing in here, anyway? Coming to join me?" he asked flippantly, raising his brows at her. She quickly averted her eyes as she realized his half-dressed state.

"Of course not! I thought you were gone and I cut my finger and- OH MY GOD!" she cried, clapping a hand to her mouth as she shot to her feet. Her eyes screeched to a halt on the enormous angry wound, haphazardly stitched up and bruising, that traveled down the side of his torso, starting from just below his arm and ending somewhere out of sight beneath the sheet that covered his lower body. Kakashi looked around in alarm.

"What happened to you!?" she gasped, moving up to the side of his bed to get a closer look at the stomach-turning laceration. Now she understood why Tsunade had made him take time off. The kunoichi had been correct in assuming the jounin was under-reacting to his injuries, as always.

"Oh," Kakashi replied when he realized her concern was for him. "Nothing. Just a scrape," he said with an air of infuriating non-chalance.

God, he was so _stupid_! He never did understand how much it worried or scared his team in the past when he was seriously hurt or in actual danger.

"Just a scrape, my ass. It looks like someone or something tried to fucking rip you in half!" she replied crossly.

"Tried... Did...," he replied with a shrug. "What's it matter? I'm still in one piece...now."

_Hardly_, Sakura thought, fighting the urge to roll her eyes.

"He was an angry man, though. I don't think he liked me very much, but he had good taste in shoes," Kakashi rambled in his usual genial manner when anyone was expressing what he thought was unnecessary concern for him.

"Who stitched this for you?" she interrupted him, not in the mood for his brush off tactics.

"I did," he stated as if it were the most obvious answer in the world.

Sakura gritted her teeth as she studied the wound closer.

"_You_ stitched this. You didn't even go to a hospital or any kind of medic." It was more of an outraged statement than an inquiry. Her frustration with him was rising.

"Why would I?"

"Because you did it wrong."

"Well, despite the fact I'd look damn sexy in one of those cute little uniforms, I'm definitely no medic nin."

Sakura did roll her eyes this time.

"Shut up and get downstairs. I'm fixing you," she ordered.

"Yes, ma'am," he added cheekily, only causing her exacerbation to grow.

Five minutes later, Kakashi was downstairs perched on his dinner table like an examining platform. As Sakura rounded the corner, pulling on the gloves from the first aid kit she had retrieved from her house next door, something dawned on her as her gaze fell on her patient's mildly interested expression.

"You're mask," she breathed. It was gone. It wasn't there. She was staring at Hatake Kakashi's naked face. How had she not noticed upstairs? She had been so overtaken by her dutiful, medic side that she hadn't even realized its absence.

"Oh yeah, that old thing," Kakashi replied offhandedly. "I don't sleep in it. Not in my house, anyway."

"Oh," was all she could manage to say as her gaze roved his handsome features freely. As much as Sakura hated to admit it to herself, she couldn't help but appreciate how damn _good-looking _he was.

"I don't usually get unannounced guests in my bedroom but if I do, they don't often live to tell about it. You're sort of a fluke," he said, but Sakura could barely register what he was saying she was so lost in studying his features.

She had wondered what mystery lay beneath the scrap of fabric constantly when she was younger, it was a subject her and her teammates had often joked about, saying Kakashi had a weird nose or some other hideous facial distortion that caused him to keep his face hidden. They had even made games out of it, trying to catch him off guard to pull it down or trick him into eating in front of them. But they had never been met with success. Even now, years down the road, when he came over in the evenings to spend dinner with her, he rarely ate, only sometimes sipping ramen broth through his mask.

And now, here he was, sitting in front of her, face exposed at last. Sakura had a feeling he had wanted this. There was no way that after all this time, after so many failed attempts and complicated plans they'd come up with, it was as easy as walking into his bedroom unexpectedly. She knew if he had wanted to stay concealed, he could have easily covered himself in time.

This new thought caused her to wonder what exactly his motives were behind this new milestone in their friendship and she met his mismatched gaze in search of an answer, taking in the dark, jagged scar that arched from his left brow down the middle of his smooth, angular cheek.

"If it bothers you, I can put it back on," he said lowly, a hollow edge to his voice. Sakura started slightly, alarmed and embarrassed when she realized how long she must have been staring.

She shook her head vehemently, dropping her gaze back to the medical kit as she fumbled nervously to thread a sterilized hooked needle.

"No, no," she responded. "It's...nice."

She felt her face flare when the absent compliment slipped from her.

"I mean, it's nice- your face, I mean...to see it... after so many years..." she rambled aimlessly. She was unnerved by his silence but was immediately sparked by irritation when she glanced up to see the amused expression on his face.

Why was his face so goddamn pretty under that mask? She could have lived with discovering an elephant's trunk or a hideous mole the size of Konoha underneath it. But she hadn't expected this! Perfect, pale lips, high cheek bones and a straight, even nose that lent to a ludicrously handsome profile.

Dammit, she needed to focus!

"Um, lay back," she insisted, her tone a little more harsh than she had meant it. Kakashi obeyed at once, settling comfortably on his back on the wooden tabletop. Sakura fought to keep her eyes from straying inappropriately over his half-naked, muscled jounin's body. "I'm sorry I don't have anything to numb the pain," she said, cutting away at the first, haphazard stitch but Kakashi didn't so much as flinch.

"That's okay. I did have an emergency eyeball transplant, once. With no anesthetics. In the middle of nowhere," he replied as if he were making pleasant conversation about the weather, though she didn't miss the darkness that lurked behind his gaze at the allusions to his somber past. Her eyes flicked nervously over the shimmering, ruby sharingan that was directed at the ceiling, before returning to her work of removing Kakashi's heavy-handed threading. They were too tight and the way he had done them would've resulted in unnecessary scarring and would've taken much longer to heal.

Sakura could feel her heart beat quickening as her hands moved lower and lower on his body, passing his navel as she worked, finally coming to the last stitch before they disappeared beneath the waistline of his sweatpants. How much further did they go on?

She hesitated, her hand hovering over the loose elastic waistband. The longer she waited the more nervous she got and the more there was a chance Kakashi would notice her embarrassment. Angry with herself for being so painfully childish, she took a deep breath and curled her fingers over the edge of the fabric and pulled them gently down a few inches. She was pleased to see they ended promptly below, but the tail end curved slightly inward instead of out toward his hip. No matter, she was an adult and a trained medical profession. She could handle it. After all, she'd seen men's junk on the operating table hundreds of time in the past. This wasn't any worse.

But she couldn't stave off the throb of heat that flushed her cheeks and other private parts of her body when her eyes fell on the faint trail of silvery hair that gathered below his taut navel and went down, down, down... Sakura swallowed hard and tore her eyes away, snatching up the alcohol pads she had already prepped after removing the last four or so stitches.

Kakashi was awfully quiet for the time being. Suspiciously quiet. Sakura wondered if the stupid pervert was actually aware and enjoying the torturous effect his body and bare skin were having on her. She didn't dare glance at his face for fear of making eye contact. Shaking her head slightly and brushing the hair out of her eyes with the back of one hand, she forced herself to stay on task as she busied herself swabbing up the fresh blood that had squeezed out of the newly unbound wound. Despite her best efforts, she still found her gaze wandering, sweeping over the countless number of other harsh scars that littered his chiseled body. No doubt, more past needlework of the Copy Ninja himself.

Tossing out the crimson stained cotton pads, she took up the fresh needle and thread at last to sew him back together like a broken doll. After much painstaking work, she stepped back to survey her handiwork.

_Much better_, she thought, thoroughly pleased with the neatly-executed stitching patterns. The wound looked much cleaner and far less frightening now that she had spruced it up.

"Finished!" she exclaimed, satisfied with herself as she peeled off her latex gloves.

Kakashi sat up at once and turned to set his feet on the floor and face her.

"Thanks, doc," he said brightly. "Do I get a treat?"

"Depends."

"On what?"

"If you're a good patient and take care of yourself. Just keep it clean."

"I _always_ take care of myself."

"Oh, please," Sakura said exasperatedly, though she was smiling herself.

"So no sucker?" he said, feigning a pout. Sakura ignored the fact that this expression was entirely too adorable on him.

"Sorry, Charlie. Sweets are bad for you," she replied with a wink.

"That's not true. Your company does me plenty of good," he said, grinning lightly and pulling a plain white t-shirt over his torso.

"Flattery won't get you anything, either," she said dryly, though a small smile tugged at the corners of her lips.

"Tough nut to crack, eh? But really, thanks for this Sakura. Nice to know _someone_ cares for an old, lonely pervert."

"That's what I'm here for," she replied distractedly as she packed away her supplies, her exhaustion from her hospital shift finally catching up to her again now that all the excitement was over. Suddenly, his hand closed lightly around her wrist, causing her to meet his gaze and her skin to breakout in tingles.

"Really," he said again, his face void of all comicality. "Thank you."

Sakura recognized the rare sincerity in his tone and she felt slightly humbled to receive such gratitude from a man she had fought so hard to please and impress in the past. It only made sense that she would finally gain his approval years later when she was simply demonstrating her true self instead of trying so hard to trump her two male teammates.

"You're welcome-" she cut off her words just in time. She had been about to call him 'sensei', again. Why couldn't she let that stupid habit go? It really was such a long time ago that they had been teacher and student...

However, there was something about Kakashi's presence that caused her to feel so young again...small... Like she was still his subordinate. Inferior, maybe. No, that wasn't it. He made her feel... overpowered. Feminine?

Yes.

His masculinity was practically intoxicating when she let her guard down. He was so damn tall. And he was presently standing over top of her, thrillingly close. She was losing herself in his odd eyes, heat emanating from her wrist where his large fingers were still gently clamped around it. Again she drank in his handsome face, mesmerized by how uncannily becoming he was underneath that stupid mask. Suddenly the shrouding scrap of fabric seemed blasphemous to her, truly a thing of evil for sheltering such a beautiful thing from her and the rest of the world for so long. She wanted to say something about it, tell him how gorgeous he was, tell him never to wear the damn thing ever again but her throat was dry and she was hardly breathing.

"Do you want to go to bed?" she heard him murmur throatily. The simple question branded Sakura, making her stir internally at the prospect of what he meant by this simple inquisition as his free hand reached up to brush her hair back from her face.

"Wh..at?" she mumbled back, her head was fuzzy with fatigue and rampant desirous emotions, her eyes fluttering shut as his finger gently brushed the top of her cheek, sending little electric pulses down her neck as his fingertips curved behind her ear to hold back a stray lock of bubblegum hair.

"You look exhausted. Go home and get some sleep. I'll bring your laundry over when it's finished," he said, his tone normal again and his hands slipped away from her.

It was as if a shining hazy bubble had popped from around her.

Sakura wavered slightly on the spot, blinking hard as she tried to register what had just happened. Her sleep deprivation was making thought processes harder than ever, though, and Kakashi's suggestion was the best she had heard, yet.

"Okay," she replied distantly. Before she knew it, her feet, clearly on autopilot, had carried her next door and into her room. She was so mentally and physically drained she fell asleep almost immediately upon laying her head down, giving her only a few sparing moments to take notice of the warm, desire that pulsed between her legs, born from the most unlikely source she could have imagined.


	4. Just a Little Conversation

_A/N: WHOA. Sorry about the huge, unexpected hiatus. Just finished up a long-distance move and a job change so things were a bit hectic for awhile. Anyway, now it's quieted down a bit and I can focus on some of my extra-curricular's again. So, as always, THANK YOU so much for the reviews, favorites, and follows! They are so appreciated & I absolutely love the feedback. :) You all are fantastico! Sooo, if you'll forgive me for leaving you hanging and would like to continue reading this story (pretty please!), here are TWO chapters to bribe me back into your good favor. Muah! ~3_

_-BCerise _

* * *

A cereal commercial blared obnoxiously from the television in the living room and drifted into the small kitchen currently occupied by the rosy-haired kunoichi and her neighbor. Sakura wrapped her hands tightly around her mug of tea, savoring the warmth of the ceramic against her cold fingers. She noticed the upper edges of her fingernails were turning a faint purple and she considered getting up to close the kitchen window, but she enjoyed fresh air this time of year too much. Late autumn was in full effect and it had always been one of her favorite seasons besides spring. There was something very nostalgic about the crisp air, where smells and sounds and colors seemed much more vibrant in fall's grasp. The scent of burning fire wood and holiday baking permeating the outdoors never failed to make her downright giddy. Most of all, chilly weather made her feel romantic, making her reminisce of past relationships, walking hand in hand through streets scattered with brightly-colored leaves, wrapped in cozy scarves and sipping at hot drinks.

Sakura sighed wistfully, glancing out of the window at the darkened streets beyond before her gaze settled on the silver-headed ninja across from her. He was clad in his usual attire: dark casual clothes, face mask (regrettably), and lopsided forehead protector. He had been engrossed in his most beloved copy of _Icha Icha_ whilst she worked on patient medical records.

Things had been tense between them recently, or maybe just on Sakura's end; Kakashi was as impassive as always. About anything. Ever. She had struggled to make sense of the odd intensity of their encounter last week, when she had sealed up his grievous, unattended injury, but she eventually chalked it up to simple exhaustion and things went back to normal, Kakashi dropping by more often than not on her free evenings. Her work schedule had made her practically nocturnal and she was appreciative to have the late night company.

As her gaze lingered on the older man, his visible eye scanning rapidly over the words of the pages, she began to wonder if Kakashi had ever been in an actual relationship and was capable of being nostalgic to something as such.

"Kakashi?" she spoke up before she could stop herself.

"Mm?" he responded, though his gaze didn't lift from the ragged, paperback.

"Have you-" Sakura faltered slightly, suddenly rethinking her actions. Was it a stupid question? She regretted opening her mouth now.

"Have I...?" he prompted after a long moment, still not sparing her a glance. Sakura let out a breath of self-exasperation. Well, she may as well finish the thought now.

"Have you ever... been in love?" she finished, trying not to cringe. Kakashi finally looked up from his smut novel.

"Oh good," he deadpanned. "And I thought you were going to ask me something completely awkward like if I'd ever had a threesome or sex in public."

Sakura's cheeks pinked slightly. It was a dumb question.

She was fairly certain there wasn't a romantic bone in Hatake Kakashi's body and she wasn't sure why she even wondered otherwise to begin with.

"The answer is yes, by the way," he added, his attention returning to his coveted book. Sakura blinked at him, slightly confused.

"Yes to what?"

"Hm?" he grunted distractedly.

"Yes, you've been in love? Or yes, you've had a threesome and sex in public?"

Kakashi raised a brow at her.

"All of the above. Satisfied? Or should I fill out a speed dating card for you?" he asked flatly, though his visible eye sparkled with something unidentifiable as Sakura felt her cheeks grow warmer.

She was so distracted by the thought of him doing the last two things that she hardly noticed he had answered her original question.

"Who was she?" she asked hopefully. Kakashi turned his book over, leaving it spread eagle on the tabletop to save his place as he stared back at her.

"A princess," he replied after a long pause.

Sakura leaned forward in excitement, her paperwork long forgotten.

"Really?" she breathed. "From where?"

"Oh, far away. Very far from here," he began, gazing rather dramatically out the window. "She lived in an enormous tower. At the very top. And she had really long hair that I used as rope to climb up and rescue her-"

Sakura's face fell immediately as she recognized the children's fairytale and she scowled at him.

"Dammit. You're such an ass," she griped, leaning back in her chair and pulling her feet up onto the seat to rest her mug on her knees. Kakashi chuckled heartily at his own shenanigans before picking up his book again.

Silence stretched between them for a little bit as Sakura sipped at her tea. Her mind began to wander as she remembered his other statement, confirming his participation in two different inappropriate sex acts. Had he been joking about that, too?

"So... Did you really do those other things? The threesome and stuff?" she asked before she could stop herself. Sakura mentally slapped herself. What was wrong with her? Why did she even _want_ to know?

_You know why_, a secret voice deep inside of her purred. Sakura quickly shut it out, wishing she could take back her question as Kakashi set his book aside again.

"You really don't want me to finish my book," was all he said in return.

"You've read that waste of paper a hundred times already. You must have it memorized by now," she replied crassly.

Kakashi shrugged, stretching lazily.

"Maybe. And yes, I really did 'do those other things'," he replied, his tone disinterested.

"So you did love a woman once!" she cried triumphantly. "You just don't want to tell me! Oh come on, _sensei_," she teased wickedly, using the once endearing title as a method to poke fun at him. His eye narrowed at her and she imagined him to be pursing his lips at her beneath his mask. Incredibly perfect lips, she noted mentally. "Why won't you tell meee," she whined.

"Why so interested?"

"Just making conversation!" she insisted earnestly. "I feel like I've known you forever but I don't really _know_ you. Come on, we're both adults here!"

Kakashi regarded her silently for a moment before leaning on his forearms at the table's edge.

"Can I ask you something then, adult Sakura?"

Sakura didn't trust the wicked gleam in his eye but she consented anyway,

"Okay..." The kunoichi eyed him suspiciously.

"Have you ever been fucked?"

Sakura almost dropped her entire mug of tea, half of the contents splashing onto the floor and down one leg as she tried to steady her hands again.

"W-what?" she gasped, completely caught off guard, snatching up a napkin and dabbing at her tea-stained lap.

"You heard me," he said, his tone boldly even. "Have you ever been fucked by a man? Have you ever had hot, sweaty, butt naked multi-orgasmic sex?"

Sakura was frozen in horror, staring wide-eyed at the older man, not believing the dirty words that were coming out of his concealed mouth.

"Well?" he prodded when she didn't answer.

"Well what?" she managed to sputter. He couldn't really be expecting her to respond to these lewd questions.

"_Have _you?"

"You're kidding me. I refuse to dignify that with an answer," Sakura replied stubbornly, looking out the window to avoid eye contact with her former sensei. He could be such a pig sometimes.

"Why?"

"Why?!" she repeated crossly. "You're being completely inappropriate!"

Kakashi leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest, surveying her interestedly. Sakura shifted nervously under his scrutiny.

"I thought we were adults, here. Anyway, now you know how it feels to be asked a bunch of uncomfortable questions you don't want to answer."

Oh, that was cute. Always had a lesson to teach her.

"That's so not even the same thing! I asked you if you'd ever been in love and you asked me a bunch of dirty things!"

"You asking me stupid questions about love is just as uncalled for as me asking you questions about your mediocre sex life," Kakashi reasoned in a maddeningly superior way. "So what about oral sex? Have you at least had a man's mouth between your legs?"

Sakura let out a small squeak, shocked by Kakashi's increasingly graphic inquisitions.

"Okay, okay! I get it! I'll stop asking you questions!" she exclaimed, her heart hammering wildly and her cheeks burning bright crimson. "Why do you always have to be such an asshole?!" she huffed, pulling her hands up into her long sleeves and hugging her knees.

Suddenly it dawned on her what he had just said a moment ago. She had nearly missed it in her indignation.

"Wait... Mediocre?" she asked, blinking dumbly at him.

"Mediocre," he confirmed, staring her dead in the face.

"How.. What do you-... Who do you think you are to call my sex life 'mediocre'?!" she spluttered in outrage. Kakashi watched her change shades of scarlet, his visible brow raised in bemusement that only added to her animosity.

"It isn't?" he asked innocently, studying the ceiling.

"No!" she snapped defensively. Sakura was surprised at how much offense she had taken to this comment.

"Tell me something, Sakura. Have you ever had an orgasm?"

"Of course, I have," she replied snippily, though she felt her embarrassment flare uncontrollably at telling this to Kakashi, of all people.

"Okay, have you ever orgasmed during intercourse?"

Sakura mulled over the question a moment.

"No," she answered truthfully. "But that's natural for the majority of women," Sakura added when she couldn't stand the smug look of Kakashi's creased eye. "Most women are unable to orgasm during sex. They just aren't built that way."

"So, let's just say that _isn't _complete bullshit and you _haven't _wasted countless hours and money on tawdry women's magazines for argument's sake," he remarked, sparking Sakura's temper again. "You've never had an orgasm from sex with a man... and you're totally okay with that?"

"Yeah, I guess," Sakura said with a shrug, though it sounded kind of bad when he put it that way.

"Mediocre," he said and picked up his book again. Sakura stared at him, disbelieving his gall.

"Look, I've had a number of lovers in the past. I've figured out by now that's it's me. Only I can do it to myself. No man can make me come."

Sakura wasn't sure why she was so nettled or why she was so apt to prove Kakashi wrong, but ill-tempered determination pounded in her chest.

Without so much as a glance from his book, he said simply,

"I could do it."

Sakura gaped at him. Several moments of complete silence dragged by as Sakura fought desperately to think of something to say, but nothing came.

She let out a single, high-pitched laugh, every nerve in her body standing on edge for some reason.

"Oh, I don't think so," she croaked finally. "It would never come to that, anyway," she added, not sure why she even said it.

"You should be so lucky, but it's not a matter of if I ever will or not," he said clearly amused, his dark gaze sliding up to meet hers briefly. "I'm simply stating, I could do it."

Suddenly, a hundred scenarios flashed through Sakura's mind, all dirty, all containing a certain silver-haired jounin, naked, sweating, moving on top of her, doing things to her she could never imagine. Sakura shook her head, trying to rid herself of these unwelcome but enticing images, grateful that Kakashi couldn't read minds as the star role himself in her adult mental films sat only a few feet away.

Sakura thought her head was going to burst into flame if she blushed any harder.

"O-kay. I'm done talking about this," she replied breathlessly, her head swimming with inappropriate, primal thoughts. Clumsily, she gathered her papers together and fumbled with her pen, her skin prickling in a way that wasn't entirely unpleasant. She glanced up at her cryptic neighbor in defeat. Kakashi: 1 Sakura: 0. She had successfully humiliated herself and learned absolutely nothing about him in return. Damn, he was good.

"Suit yourself. Just making conversation," Kakashi commented lightly over his book. Sakura's dangerous eye twitch and glare were lost on him as the Copy Ninja was encompassed once again in _Icha Icha's _riveting plotlines.


	5. Tea for Two

_A/N: Not my favoritest of chapters, feels a bit rushed. Anywho, for those who have been wondering about Sakura's mission gone wrong... also, 'favoritest' is totally a word in the dictionary of Belle Cerise. Just like 'scrumptulescent'. (Okay, I don't even know if I spelled that right...)_

* * *

Explosions. Screams. Fire. They were everywhere, filling Sakura's pounding ear drums, thick smoke pouring into her lungs as she ran at top speed through the chaos. All around her, dark shapes moved in the noxious clouds of smoke and poison gas, the kunoichi unable to tell friend from foe in the dangerous haze.

She could feel the airborne toxins slowing her thought processes, shutting her body down slowly. Tearing a strip of fabric from the bottom of her ceremony dress, she quickly wrapped it across her nose and mouth, tying it at the nape of her neck as she continued her sprint toward the palace.

Moments later, she came crashing through the doors, her worst nightmares confirmed as she saw signs of a break-in already. Her heart hammering harder, she sprinted through the empty halls toward the throne room, the discarded bodies of royal servants scattered like toy soldiers along the way.

She skidded around the corner, inhaling sharply when her eyes fell on three distinct figures laid out across the floor, their limbs strewn haphazardly over their bodies as they lay in growing pools of crimson. Sakura let out a strangled cry of misery, ripping off her makeshift mask, as she threw herself to her knees by the smallest one: a tiny raven-haired girl of eight, dressed in lavish robes of royal purple and gold.

Her sweet, porcelain face was bloodless and blank, though her gaze shifted slightly to focus on Sakura as she gathered the fragile girl into her arms, trying to fight back the painful sobs that threatened to overtake her. A single hand, tiny and shaking, reached up to tug gently, lovingly, on a long lock of pink hair.

Suddenly, the room was pitched into darkness and silence roared frighteningly in her ears. Sakura shot up in bed, sweat blanketing her body uncomfortably. It took her a moment to notice the moisture of real tears on her face as she swung her feet off the bed, trembling horribly.

Leaping up from the mattress, she made it to her bathroom just in time to empty the contents of her stomach into the toilet bowl. After several minutes of unpleasant retching, the kunoichi sunk limply onto the chilly bathroom tiles. She sat with her head on her knees for awhile, trying to cease her shaking and tears as sorrow and fear and all things unpleasant continued to shudder through her.

It felt like hours before she felt steady enough to rise, but eventually she meandered back to her bedroom. However, she found herself pacing instead, unable to erase the shock of her nightmare and settle down. A glance at her digital clock told her it was four in the morning. Feeling miserable and alone, Sakura moved to look out of her window, desperate to distract herself from her tormented thoughts.

From her window she noticed a light was on in Kakashi's house. Immediately, a minute sense of relief washed over her. Just the idea of his conscious presence made her feel less alone. Without even thinking, Sakura threw on a pair of sweat pants and a hoodie over her tank and underwear she had worn to bed and vacated her house.

A moment later she was standing on Kakashi's porch, rapping lightly on the chipping wooden door. She waited for a response, the wind rushing through the surrounding trees and tugging at her long ponytail. A moth fluttered noisily by the burning porch light.

She heard footsteps and her heart raced for a new reason when it finally hit her what she was doing. The door swung open to reveal her towering, silver-haired neighbor, his imposing frame filling the entire entryway. Sakura couldn't help the faint disappointment she felt to see him fully-dressed and masked, though his forehead protector was removed and she felt strangely warm under his mismatched gaze.

"Hi," she said, lamely.

Now that she stood here, she wasn't entirely sure what she had come for. Maybe, she just wanted to talk. Who better to talk to about trauma than one of the most experienced shinobi in the history of Konoha? She couldn't even imagine the sorts of horrific events Kakashi had witnessed and survived in his lifetime.

"Yo," he replied casually, as if it were perfectly normal for her to show up at his door in the wee hours of the morning.

"Can... Can I come in?" she asked after a moment of internal struggle. Another thought had occurred to her why he was up so late and she prayed he didn't have company over, but she was relieved when he stepped aside and held out an arm to indicate she enter.

Slowly, she passed over the threshold, aware of his gaze on her as she crossed the living room and sat down on his couch. He followed her into the space and stood patiently, leaning calmly on the kitchen doorway as he continued to study her.

"Would you like some tea? I can put on a kettle," he said at last when Sakura couldn't bring herself to speak. Still unable to force out a word, she nodded stiffly.

Kakashi disappeared into the kitchen and she listened to the sounds of him preparing a pot of tea. Somehow the familiarity of the gesture made her feel a little calmer but her nerves returned in full force when Kakashi emerged from the kitchen again to lean on the doorway.

Silence seemed to stretch endlessly between them as Sakura nervously twisted the fabric of her sweatpants . He was waiting for her to talk, to explain why she was here. Sakura cleared her throat, which was suddenly very dry. It was proving harder to speak about her emotions than she imagined.

"Kakashi," she began, swallowing hard, looking everywhere but at him. "Do you ever have... bad dreams? About past missions, I mean?"

"Is that why you're here?" he asked, his tone even. "You had a nightmare?"

Sakura nodded slowly and suddenly she found herself inexplicably on the edge of tears. Now that she thought of it, she felt sort of stupid. Even though there wasn't any disdain in his tone, the nature of the situation sounded childish to her. However, unconquerable fear was still rocketing through her veins.

"But how can you call it a nightmare when it's real? It's something that really happened?" she asked, the edges of her vision blurred with moisture. "What does it say about a person if their actual memories are far worse than what their imagination can dream up?"

"I ask myself the same question all the time," he murmured, surprising Sakura slightly. She looked up at him, blinking hard to reduce the wetness in her eyelids.

"Well...how do you make it go away?"

Kakashi stared back at her, his eyes filled with something Sakura could only take as pity and it made her stomach lurch sickeningly.

"You don't," was all he said in return.

Sakura leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees and chewing her thumbnail hard, desperately fighting down the emotion in her throat.

"You can only cope," he spoke up again.

"How?"

"Talk about it."

Sakura looked at him, furrowing her brow slightly.

"But you never talk to anyone about anything."

Kakashi gave a little shrug, crossing the room and settling in the cushioned chair adjacent to her.

"I guess we're all different," he replied, his unnatural eyes searching her. "Is that why you're home early from your mission? Did something happen?"

Sakura nodded slowly.

"There was a team of four of us," she began suddenly, the story spilling from her before she knew it. "We were sent to Etsuharu, a village of monarchs in the mountains. There were border wars going on between the surrounding cities and we were tasked with protecting the royal family. For the better half of a year, we did our job and we did it well. Too well, I guess because over time, we grew relaxed. It was naive of us. It seemed like peaceful times were in store for Etsuharu and they were moving closer to such with each passing day. But on the night of the annual spring festival, there was an ambush," she paused, losing herself partially in a frightful reverie of combat and gore.

"We hardly stood a chance. They had caught us so entirely off guard... Anyway, during my time there, I grew close with the royal family and most of all their young daughter, Princess Asami. She was a delight, the sweetest child I'd ever encountered in my whole life. She was full of life and big dreams... the purest soul I'd ever met," Sakura said, the corners of her lips flickering upward, an image of Asami's smiling face burning brightly in her mind. However, the kunoichi's expression quickly turned dark when she remembered what came next.

"But after the ambush...I worked tirelessly-trying to revive her... I did what I could t-to save her. I tried everything-"

Sakura stared at her upturned palms, lost in a different time and place, seeing again the scarlet stains of Asami's blood on her flesh from so long ago.

"But...she eventually bled out. She died in my hands that night."

Once the words left her mouth, she wasn't exactly sure when the tears had finally escaped over the threshold of her lower lid. And though she fought hard, they didn't stop, they didn't even slow down, they simply continued to fall ceaselessly and she ducked her head in a sordid attempt to hide them from her lone audience member.

In the corners of her down-turned gaze, Sakura saw a shadow cast over the floor and sofa as Kakashi came to crouch in front of her. Carefully, he nudged away her palms that were pressed against her forehead and lifted her chin with a pair of gentle fingers.

"Don't hide," he said quietly, brushing away the trail of tears on one cheek with his thumb, his fingers warm even against her flushed skin.

"I'm sorry," she blubbered. "I shouldn't be crying like this. It's so weak of me..."

"Tears are _not_ a sign of weakness," he replied, his tone very serious. Sakura shook her head slightly.

"They have to be! You're the strongest person I kn-know and I've never seen you shed a single fucking tear," she gulped between quiet sobs, her cheeks burning with shame.

Kakashi let out a sniff of sardonic laughter.

"Just because you haven't seen me cry doesn't mean I'm not weak," he replied, that rarely seen but familiar darkness flashing briefly through his gaze. Sakura couldn't tell if he was just being humble to console her or if he was possibly hinting at something deeper. She watched with slight alarm as he stood and disappeared from the room. She felt incredibly cold in his absence and she wrapped her own arms tightly around herself, feeling uncannily child-like, sitting teary-eyed and alone in the foreign dimly-lit room.

He returned a moment later with a box of tissues, offering them to her silently. She accepted them gratefully, dabbing her eyes and blowing her nose, her tears slowing at last as she finally began to regain control of her emotions.

"I'm sorry for your loss, Sakura. Truly," he said sincerely when he had settled disappointingly far away in his original seat. Sakura nodded wordlessly, feeling extremely numb now that she had released her mournful tears.

"Thank you," she said aloud, her voice sounding hollow even to her own ears. "Her mother survived, but her father perished with her. After the funeral, the village held a ceremony where they honored us for our loyal protection. Though we managed a victory after that fateful night, I didn't feel like we'd won nor deserved the gratitude. Even still, the empress came to see me. She thanked me personally because she knew how I loved Asami so and that my sorrow rivaled hers. The rest of my team could see my devastation and how personally involved I'd allowed myself to get in the mission, so they contacted Tsunade, who summoned me home to mourn my loss in peace. I was reluctant at first and even angry with my teammates for going behind my back," she said, studying a faint scar on her left knuckle where it had been knicked by a kunai years ago. "But over the last few months, I've come to understand that this was necessary."

Kakashi was quiet for a little while, simply watching her from his distant perch.

"Indeed," he said at last. "It would seem you've gained a fair bit of wisdom since then. Which is the only upside to such horrific experiences. Over time, you'll understand that the only thing you can do is keep on in hopes that you've learned something you can use down the road. That's how you ease the pain and survive the nightmares: by honoring those you've lost and using your past experience to save another life. That's all you can do, really. Forge on and make certain they didn't die in vain."

Sakura let his words sink in, feeling a surge of respect toward the older man. This was why he had been her teacher and she suddenly wished she had listened more to him when she was younger. Even now, at the age of twenty-three, there was still so much she could learn from him.

Sakura lifted her gaze at last to meet his and she was just beginning to wish he wasn't so far away when the shrill cry of the tea kettle split the air. Swiftly, Kakashi moved out of sight into the kitchen again to silence the shrieking pot. He returned minutes later with two cups of tea.

"I put in two spoons of sugar like you like it," he said softly, handing her one of the cups. She accepted it shakily, offering him a small, watery smile.

"Thanks," she whispered, sipping at the hot, sweet beverage. As the heat dropped down her throat and spread into her belly, she watched Kakashi sip at his own tea through his mask and she suddenly felt very safe, as if untouchable by grief and sorrowful things as she sat and drank tea in the company of Hatake Kakashi. She quickly looked away as his gaze turned to her, causing the kunoichi to study the sofa with sudden intensity.

"Um, is it okay," she began slowly, picking at a loose thread on the olive green couch cushion. "if I stay here tonight?"

"Of course," he replied, making to rise. "I'll change my sheets and sleep on the couch, so you can use my bed."

Sakura gasped lightly, waving her hands at him hurriedly.

"No, no! I couldn't! I'm fine down here on the couch. I just don't want to go back to my house tonight. It feels so empty."

"It's no problem," he stated simply. Sakura shook her head. How could it not be a problem? It was four in the morning and she was certain no one wanted to go through the trouble of changing sheets at 4 AM, especially not terminally lazy Kakashi.

"It's okay. Really."

Sakura just couldn't bare the thought of tossing and turning, utterly alone in her home. She knew simply the thought of Kakashi upstairs was enough company to stave off her nightmarish thoughts until the morning.

"Then I'll sleep down here, too."

"No, really, I'll be fine by myself here," she insisted, balling up on the couch and laying her head on the cushy arm rest, though she secretly wished in the deep confines of her subconscious that he'd curl up with her. He studied her carefully, lifting a hand to rub his sharingan wearily.

"I'll at least stay down here until you fall asleep."

Recognizing that the stubborn jounin wasn't going to budge on this one, Sakura finally conceded to defeat, her exhaustion finally tugging at her eyelids as she hugged her knees closer.

"Alright, then..." she mumbled, the room drifting in and out of focus. As her eyes fluttered shut, she heard the sound of him moving around. Seconds later, her teacup was gently tugged from her limp fingers and a blanket flopped softly over her tightly curled body.

"Kakashi," she murmured sleepily, listening to him settle down in his chair again.

"Hm?" he responded softly.

"Thank you." She didn't need to say what she was thanking him for, she knew he would know.

"Shh," was all he said in return and before she knew it, Sakura was asleep.


	6. Get Off My Game

_A/N: Thankyouthankyouthankyou for the support and feedback! Trust me, your reviews are much appreciated and do not fall on silent ears. I wish I could respond to all of them personally but I don't really care for fanfictiondotnet's comment-reply system. Sort of archaic and weird to 'privately' message each reviewer...8| I dunno, maybe that's just me being weird. (No, I don't have social anxiety. Not at all.) Anyway, my next two installments were pretty short so I squished 'em into one chapter. I didn't think any a'youse would mind. That being said, it might take me a little bit to update after this chapter since the next one is rather lengthy and needs to be rewritten in parts, so apologies in advance! Hope you are all enjoying so far and I haven't let anyone down that's been with it since the start. If you are in favor of this story, encouragement to carry on is certainly welcomed. ;)_

_-BCerise _

* * *

When Sakura woke the following morning, she was somewhat flattered to see that Kakashi had never left her. Sitting up and stretching, she regarded the sleeping jounin with a small smile. He looked rather sweet with his elbow propped on the chair arm, his cheek resting lightly on his open palm as he slumbered peacefully.

There was something very gallant about him staying at her side, causing a light blush to creep into her cheeks as she watched him, his chest rising and falling lightly as he slept. Again, she considered the thought of Kakashi being a romantic somewhere deep down in his bones but her conscious brain was quick to shut her down.

_He's just being a good friend_, her logical inner voice reminded her snarkily. That or perhaps he had just simply fallen asleep there by accident. Bundling up the soft blanket in her arms, she stood and crossed to him, her hand hovering hesitantly over his large shoulder. Should she wake him? If anything, she wanted to tell him to go upstairs and sleep in his bed since she was leaving now.

She gazed down at his silvery-head, drooping forward a bit, unsure of what to do. She chewed her bottom lip thoughtfully. Maybe it would be best to put the blanket on him and leave. But then again, that'd probably wake him up anyway.

"Morning, Sakura," he mumbled suddenly, though he didn't move or open his eyes. Sakura pursed her lips.

So much for trying to be sneaky.

Of course, it had been silly for her to think she could even make it five steps without waking him up. It was Kakashi, after all.

"Morning," she sighed. "Why don't you go upstairs to bed? I'm heading back to my house now."

Kakashi opened his eyes finally and gazed up at her. Her breath caught slightly as it always did when she was close enough to see the finer details of his ruby, sharingan orb.

"I think I'll do that," he replied, rising and stretching lackadaisically, finishing with an audible crack of his neck.

"Thanks again, by the way... for last night," she said, then immediately wished she had phrased the sentence differently when she realized how suggestive it sounded. Kakashi raised a brow at her, a flicker of amusement passing over his visible features.

"That's it, huh?"

"What?"

"I'm used to higher praise when a woman spends the night with me."

"You have to make everything dirty, don't you?"

"You started it."

"Did not!" she replied testily. "And I'm going to assume that's a 'yes'."

"What can I say? It's a gift."

"I'm certain you're the only person in the whole world who would call it that," Sakura said, wrinkling her nose as she made her way to the front door.

"Does it count for anything that I'm the only person in the whole world that can pull it off?" he asked innocently. When she turned back to face him in the open doorway, she found him surveying her casually, his hands in his pockets per usual.

"Oh, hush," she admonished, placing her hands on her hips. "It's too early for that mouth of yours."

"Sakura, you can't expect me not to act on all these innuendos you keep lobbing at me."

"Will you just get in bed already?"

"Why, Sakura," he gasped, feigning shock. "I thought you'd never ask."

"Walked right into that one, didn't I?"

"Yep."

Sakura chuckled lightly, shaking her head.

"Kakashi, I love you and all," she said grinning over her shoulder as she exited the house. "But sometimes, you're too fucking much."

They called farewells to each other as Sakura crossed the lawn and the kunoichi had to admit she found herself in brighter spirits this morning than she would've guessed. Once she had returned home and reached her bedroom again, she gathered up a fresh change of clothes to wear after her shower. She paused to check her cell phone and was surprised to find she had a total of ten missed phone calls. A quick glance over the caller ID list told her it had been Ino blowing up her phone.

Normally, Sakura would be alarmed by the repetitive calls but she knew it was perfectly natural behavior for her pushy, blonde friend. Hitting the redial button, Sakura hugged her bundle of clean clothes to her chest and balanced her cell phone between her cheek and shoulder as she waited for Ino to pick up.

"Jesus, there you are! Why the fuck didn't you answer your phone earlier? I'm almost to your new house," Ino griped immediately.

Sakura rolled her eyes at her loud, foul-mouthed girlfriend.

"Hi, Ino. I'm doing great, thanks! How about you?" Sakura replied sarcastically.

"Hi, yourself. Learn to answer your damn phone."

"I'm sorry! I stayed over at Kakashi's and I left my phone," she replied without thinking.

"Kakashi's? What?" Ino replied, dumbfounded. Sakura almost dropped the phone when she realized how that must've sounded.

"No, no," she quickly corrected. "Kakashi's my neighbor now! I just slept over-" Sakura smacked a hand over her mouth, kicking herself mentally at her miserable wording.

"You slept over with Kakashi? Hatake Kakashi?! Like... your teacher?"

Sakura inwardly groaned at the reference.

"He's not my teacher, anymore. And, no! I mean, well, yeah, but not like- not like that!" she stammered. She could see her face rapidly turning red in the mirror that topped her dresser.

"Oh..." Ino replied. "Why'd you sleep over, then?" she asked after a long pause, and though Sakura couldn't see her, she could hear the wicked grin in Ino's voice.

"We were just talking!" Sakura cried defensively. "And it was late...and I was tired..." she trailed off, in dismay of how phony the truth could sound.

"Uh-huh... Well, I'll see you when I get there. I'm like five minutes away," Ino said before she hung up abruptly. Sakura slammed her phone down on her dresser, groaning loudly.

Great.

Ino, the gossip queen, was never going to let her live this one down. And she knew all the girls at work would soon be abuzz with her personal life concerning Hatake Kakashi, infamous philanderer of Konoha.

An hour or so later, Ino and Sakura were sitting on her front porch, chatting animatedly over tea when Kakashi emerged from the house next door. He threw the pair of ladies a casual wave as he passed the sidewalk directly in front of her house. Sakura smiled widely at him, feeling a surge of camaraderie toward the man as she thought of the previous night.

Her smile died quickly when she looked back at Ino who was watching her with a smirk and raised brow.

"_So_," she began, her grin widening. "What's up with you two?"

Sakura sipped non-chalantly at her tea, though her heart rate was picking up and she could feel her ears growing to match the shade of her hair.

"What do you mean?" she asked innocently, gazing down the street after the ninja until he moved out of sight around the corner.

"Well, I'll be honest, I thought you were lying at first when you said he lived next door. But now that I see he really does, I'm actually even more interested."

"Interested in what? I don't know what you're talking about," Sakura replied snippily, starting to get annoyed as she continued to avoid eye contact.

"In you two!" Ino exclaimed, clasping her hands together and leaning toward her. "Oh, _come on_, Sakura. You live next door to Hatake Kakashi and you've slept at his house! You can't convince me you don't know what that entails to everyone else."

"He's my friend, Ino, and my old teacher. What exactly do you think we do besides hang out?" Sakura replied insipidly.

"Have sex."

Sakura choked, spewing tea out over the shaded patio.

"Jesus, Ino! We do _not_ have sex!"

"Seriously? You've never even talked about it before?" she asked, looking mildly disappointed.

"Well, yeah, I mean that's all the stupid pervert ever talks about," Sakura replied, remembering their past decidedly humiliating conversations. It didn't dawn on Sakura what Ino had really meant by the question until she saw her wide-eyed excitement. "Wait, no! I thought you meant- We don't- We're not- no, we don't talk about having sex with _each other_!" she sputtered pathetically.

Actually, they had in fact, Sakura realized with burning embarrassment. Ino folded her arms and regarded her smugly.

"Oh, Sakura... When are you going to learn," she said, tutting lightly at her. Sakura busied herself downing the rest of her tea, not caring what Ino meant by this comment as she fought to quiet her squirming insides. Good grief. He didn't even have to be present and she was riled up over him. What exactly was happening here?

"Anyway, I'm getting some of the guys and gals from work together tonight for a few drinks. Both of you should come! It'll be fun. And I miss going out with you," Ino said, pouting exaggeratedly at her pink-haired friend.

Sakura considered the offer and couldn't think of a reason to refuse it. She shrugged.

"Okay," she replied. "I'll ask him later when he gets home."

"Yay!" Ino replied brightly.

Sakura was grateful when Ino began to ramble on about some handsome patient of hers asking her out, glad to be out of the hot seat. Even though he was long gone and the subject matter of the conversation had changed entirely, thoughts of the Copy Ninja continued to linger in the back of her mind.

* * *

Chatter, music, and the sounds of clinking glasses filled Sakura's ears as she gazed around the crowded bar. Everyone at her table erupted into laughter at a joke one of her co-workers had just told and Sakura was disappointed that she had let her attention wander, but she was busy scanning the masses for any familiar faces or at least, good-looking male ones.

She recognized a few people here and there, from past missions or patients she had treated at the hospital but no one really worth getting up to greet. Sakura felt a spark of triumph when her gaze fell on a handsome man, dressed in dark jeans and a button-up shirt across the room with a group of friends. She eyed him coyly and sipped her drink. He smiled back at her before his pleased expression quickly died and he turned away. Confused, Sakura looked around the table before her eyes came to rest on the silver-haired ninja beside her and the reason for the man's change of heart became pretty damn obvious.

Kakashi was sitting back, one arm casually resting along the top of the booth behind her, his other hand raising a beer bottle to his masked lips as his attention was directed elsewhere. Of course. No man here was going to hit on her with the Copy Ninja sitting next to her like he owned her.

"Hey," she said, prodding him in the ribs with her index finger. "You're throwing off my game," she complained. He glanced down at her with a raised brow.

"And who's to say you're not throwing off mine?" he retorted.

"I'm not! Women are sluts and they'll hit on you anyway, even if they think you're here with me."

"Men are the same way. We're dogs," he stated simply, turning his attention back to the TV mounted behind the bar.

"I agree, but, not in this case," Sakura replied, crossing her arms and observing him in disbelief. Did he really not see the difference here?

"Why is that?"

"No male here is going to approach me with you sitting here. You're-" she paused for a moment, contemplating how to word it. "-well, kinda scary."

Her response must have caught him off guard because he laughed heartily.

"Scary?" he repeated, his shoulders still shaking slightly.

"Yeah!" she insisted. "Anybody here would be stupid if they didn't recognize you or know your reputation as a jounin."

"Well, I'm flattered, I guess," he said after a moment. "But I'd still say we're equally hurting each other's 'game' since you're easily the most attractive woman in this establishment."

Sakura hated herself for blushing at the offhanded compliment.

"Well, if that's what you think, let's have a competition," she said, trying to distract herself from the warmth in her face. "Whoever gets a phone number first wins. Loser buys the other a drink."

"I accept your challenge, my friend. I could use another beverage," he replied cheekily, ruffling her hair and finishing off his beer before departing from the table, no doubt in active search of prey.

"You guys are way too cute!" Sakura heard above the chatter at the table suddenly. "You'd definitely be adorable together." She looked over to see that Ino and another work friend named, Kamiko, had been eavesdropping on them.

"I've told her that, too, but she won't listen," Ino replied with an exaggerated frown. Sakura was grateful Kakashi was no longer at the table as her blush spread further across her cheeks. "Look! See? She's blushing! I told you she does that every time you bring it up!"

"_Ino_!" Sakura growled. "And for your information, my face flushes when I drink!"

It was everything she could do not to stick her tongue out childishly at her blonde friend.

Without waiting for a response from the pair of giggling girls, Sakura slid from the booth to begin her own hunting spree. She thought of Kakashi's comment from a moment ago, stating she was the prettiest girl here and she hoped it was true as she studied the male population of the room. She had put considerable effort into her appearance tonight, being it was the first time she'd gone out on the town in quite some time. After a long hot shower, she had blow-dried her cascade of bubblegum hair, curling it softly at the bottoms before playing up her emerald eyes with dark, smoky shadows and mascara. For her outfit, she had chosen a deep blue, long-sleeved dress that hugged her curves snugly and fell on the short side, ending scandalously mid-thigh. She had considered wearing sheer tights with her heels under the dress, due to the chilly weather outside, but she was glad she opted against it since it was well-heated in the cramped pub.

Sakura sashayed to a small clearing at the bar, leaning against it with her forearms as she curved her back vivaciously, allowing her posture to take on a more alluring form as she waited to be acknowledged. As she surveyed the crowds languidly, Sakura grinned to herself as someone promptly moved up beside her in the corner of her eye.

"Hello," a male voice spoke up.

"Hi," she said, flashing him a dazzling smile. She was pleased to see he was more than reasonably attractive, with dark, neatly coiffed hair and clad in a pair of fitted black slacks topped by a collared shirt under a v-neck sweater. "Can I buy you a drink?"

"Sure," she responded brightly.

A moment later, he set another beer down in front of her. She took a sip, eying him foxily over the bottleneck.

"I'm Mitsuru. What's your name?" he asked finally.

"Sakura."

"That's a beautiful name for a beautiful woman."

_Never heard that one before_, she thought wryly but she giggled and pretended to be flattered.

"Thank you."

"So, are you here alone? I find it hard to believe a gorgeous girl like you would be."

Sakura opened her mouth to respond but her words caught in her throat as an arm snaked around her waist, pulling her backward against the warmth and hardness of a large, muscled body. She knew who it was before she even saw the paled expression on Mitsuru's face but so shocked was she, she couldn't get a word out otherwise as she felt Kakashi's masked mouth brush the top of her ear as he leaned down to press it against her temple.

"There you are," he said brightly, his warm breath tickling her ear lobe and sending shockwaves of tingles throughout her body. "I went to get us another round of drinks and you were gone when I came back! And here I find you, such a naughty girl," he chided mischievously and she knew he was grinning wickedly behind her.

"Um, I need to make a phone call," Mitsuru mumbled before practically sprinting away from the pair. Sakura stared after him, barely registering his departure as she fought the urge to lean back further into Kakashi's warmth, enjoying all too much the feel of his strong arm wound across her waist as he pressed her against his body.

Shaking off the unexpected haze that had enveloped her, she whirled around and punched him soundly on the arm.

"That's cheating!" she cried. Kakashi was clearly amused by her anger as he grinned down at her.

"It is not. Especially since you lost already," he replied, brandishing a cocktail napkin with a hastily scrawled number on it.

Sakura gaped at him, snatching the napkin out of his hand and studying it.

"What!" she gasped. "Who- where'd you get _this_?!"

"Bartender."

Sakura lifted her gaze to the busty, brunette behind the counter at the far end of the bar, eying the kunoichi cattily as she wiped down a glass. The look on the bartender's face caused a sudden smug pride in Sakura, reveling in the woman's envy as she stood so near Kakashi's towering frame. It made her want to move closer to him, claim him as her own companion for the evening.

Wait, what? That had to be the little bit of alcohol she had consumed thus far tonight.

Sakura swallowed hard, her heart hammering as she held out the napkin for him to take back. Was she tipsy already? But Sakura knew the answer as she tried to make up a mental array of excuses as to why she had just felt that way.

Kakashi took back the number, crumbling it in his hand before pocketing it carelessly. Sakura felt a pang of victory at this.

"So what do I win again?" he asked.

"A drink."

"That's all? Not even a kiss for your mock boyfriend who saved you from certain boredom and awkward sex?" Sakura rolled her eyes.

"I didn't know you wanted one."

"I always want a kiss from my mock girlfriend," he replied, leaving Sakura to wonder if he was serious or not. So she did what she always did when he she couldn't tell: she avoided the subject.

"Anyway, I didn't need saving. He wasn't so bad," she mused, tipping her beer bottle to her lips again, trying not to cringe as the bitter liquid poured down her throat. She was more of a martini girl.

"Are you sure about that? I'm fairly certain he spent more time on his hair than you did before leaving the house tonight."

Sakura giggled. He was sort of high-maintenance looking now that Kakashi mentioned it.

"I guess he _was _kinda pretty, huh?" she laughed.

"Kinda?" he repeated with a quirked brow. "_I_ might have accidentally hit on him if you hadn't gotten there first."

"Oh, stop it. He was manly enough. Now come on, I'll buy you your damn drink," she added grumpily, though she was grinning as she led the way to the other (male) bartender, ignoring Ino and Kamiko's triumphant stares as the pair of ninjas passed.

* * *

_Footnote: So yeah, next chapter picks up post-bar, post-drinks, so plenty of mischief to be had. Just some subtext on why it needs a little extra attention. Gotta spice it up a bit for all a'youse who've been so patiently waiting. ;) -BCerise_


	7. Truth or Dare

_A/N: Hello, dearest readers! I'm back (for now)! That needy bitch called life got in the way again and well, I'll be honest, I got some nasty writer's block, too. This chapter was driving me nuts and I got tired of writing and re-writing it and still not liking it and shoving it off for another day. Also, another reason for my delay is I got side-tracked writing an Anko and Kakashi fic. Aside from Sakura and Kakashi, they are my faaavorite pair! However, there is a very troubling and notable lack of decent Anko and Kakashi fics on this site, so if anyone knows of any, feel free to point me in the right direction for a good read. So yeah, I will probably post the first few chapters of that sometime soon (after I've proofread and re-edited them suckers a hundred times over (I'm exhausting (yep, triple parentheses. that just happened.)))Anyway, I literally forced myself to sit down and finish this chapter today and well, here it is. I'm still not 100% happy with it but I'll never get around to posting it if I wait till then since I am plagued by headache-inducing perfectionism. I just want to get on with the story, which I'm sure the feeling is mutual! Also I just wanted to say thank you again to all the reviewers and encouragement you've given me. I actually went through and re-read everyone's feedback recently which helped to motivate me quite a bit to get this story up and running again! :) You guys are the best. Alright, alright, I'm getting longwinded again. Enjoy!_

_-BCerise_

* * *

It was nearly three in the morning and Sakura knew they were making far too much of a ruckus as they stumbled drunkenly, arm in arm through the neighborhood, laughing loudly over a past mission she had been on with Naruto.

"I s-swear, to god, he looked just like a fucking banana in that stupid yellow suit!" she gasped between gales of laughter, Kakashi chortling along with her. "I wanted to _die_! I've never had such a hard time staying in character during an undercover job!"

They had just rounded the corner onto their street when her foot clumsily caught the uneven pavement and she felt herself pitch forward. Kakashi's hand shot out lightning quick, catching her by the wrist and pulling her upright. His strength overcorrected her and she bumped into his broad chest, her palm laying flat against him. She gripped the edge of his open jacket, steadying her swimming head as she looked up at him.

She could see the haze of alcohol in his heavy-lidded eye and it was funny how warm she felt at the moment, despite her skimpy attire beneath her coat. The dry leaves on the sidewalk scraped noisily against the pavement as the chilly wind urged them along through the darkness, tugging at her long, rosy locks and pulling them across her face like a curtain. Kakashi reached up with his free hand, gathering the stray tresses in his fingers and looping it behind her ear, his fingertips brushing her cheek softly and awakening every nerve in her body.

"Are you okay?" he asked huskily. They were so close their noses were almost touching and she could smell the faint trace of alcohol on his warm breath that mingled visibly with hers in the icy air.

"Never better," she slurred slightly. His hand on her wrist traveled lightly up her arm, coming to rest just above her elbow, pulling her closer to him. This time their noses did touch and Sakura knew she wasn't ready for the night to be over yet as she stared hungrily at the mask that housed his handsome face, and more importantly, his perfect, pale lips. "Do you... want to come over? I can make us a couple more drinks," she offered in a hushed tone without giving herself a chance to over think the invitation.

"Lead the way," he murmured and then his warmth was gone, stepping back to allow her to do just that.

Once inside her home, Sakura hung her coat by the door and slipped out of her heels before hurrying to the kitchen to dig up her liquor. Something about the silence and the bright-lighting of her house had sobered her up a little and she was feeling rather shy about their electrifying encounter a moment ago. Retrieving her bottle of rum from the cabinet over the refrigerator, she set it on the counter with a light clunk, chewing her bottom lip nervously. Maybe this wasn't a good idea.

_Relax_, her inner harlot purred. She turned, startled to find the man in question standing silently in the kitchen behind her. She hadn't heard him enter but she supposed that wasn't exactly a surprise.

"Um, there's plenty of rum, help yourself. And there should be some coke in the fridge. I'm just gonna... go... uh...wash my hands," she stammered lamely. _Stupid, stupid, stupid_. Her idiot mouth never failed to embarrass but she was desperate to get away from him for a moment and clear her head.

Safely inside her room, she leaned against the closed door, covering her eyes with one hand as she willed her heart rate to slow down. After several minutes without success, she headed to her bathroom to splash cold water on her burning face.

What exactly had she been thinking outside? Was she planning to seduce him?

_No!_ her inner voice, the logical, painfully moral one, cried as she began to feel panicky. Is that what _he _thought? Did he think she was trying to seduce him? No, no. Their behavior hadn't been that suggestive had it? Sakura thought hard to recall the rousing moment they had shared in the dark street but her drinks from earlier in the evening were fudging her memories now.

Taking a deep breath, Sakura emerged from her bedroom minutes later, feeling rather terrified of what could possibly be waiting for her in the living room. But she was relieved to find Kakashi on the couch, flipping passively through an anatomy book on her coffee table, a drink in hand. He had turned on the radio low, also, so the room seemed less uncomfortable and sobering as it had previously. He glanced up at her when she entered the sitting area.

"I made you a drink. Hope I didn't make it too strong for you," he said, pushing the second cup of dark liquid across the coffee table toward her. His tone was friendly, devoid of the low sultry edge it had possessed outside in the dark. His mannerisms were so casual currently, she wondered if she'd even imagined the whole scenario to begin with; she tripped, he helped her up. That was it. Feeling better, Sakura loosened up a bit, settling down on the floor on the opposite side of the coffee table.

"Thanks. I'm sure it'll be fine," she replied, offering him a small smile as she took up the beverage. It was a little more heavy on the rum than she preferred but she would survive.

"So," she said casting around for something to break the ice. "Are you really gonna use that bartender's number?"

Kakashi shrugged.

"She's not really my type, but it was worth the free drink to get her number."

"_You_ have a type?" Sakura asked incredulously, the edges of her tipsiness fading in and out as she took another swig of bitter liquor. Kakashi tilted his head to the side slightly.

"You seem surprised."

"I mean, I am a little. I guess I just figured you didn't take enough personal interest in others to have a _type_."

"Ouch," he replied, though his eye was creased in a slight grin. "Are you insinuating I have no standards for the women I bed?"

Sakura shook her head at once, feeling bad.

"No, no! That's not what I meant!" she insisted, frowning profusely.

"I'm just fucking with you, Sakura."

"Oh," she replied, feeling dumb. She should've learned by now that nothing perturbed the master of calm, cool, and collected. She tapped her fingers against her glass, the ice in it clinking cheerfully together. She could still feel the faint imprint of alcohol on the edges of her mind. Silence reigned for a moment before an idea popped into her head. "Hey! Let's play a game!" she exclaimed excitedly, wavering unsteadily as she rose to her knees and scooted closer to him.

"A game?" he repeated dubiously.

"Yeah! Truth or Dare! Come on, it'll be fun!" she said with a grin.

"I dunno," Kakashi said slowly, eyeing her warily. "Something tells me you won't like me very much after we play this game."

"I don't like you very much, anyway, so come on let's play!" she teased.

"Touche," he replied calmly.

"I'll start. Truth or dare?" she asked, sipping at her drink again, the stifling scent of spiced rum filling her nostrils briefly.

"Hmm. Dare," he said after a moment.

"Okay, I dare you to take your mask off!"

Kakashi raised a brow at her skeptically.

"You're terrible at this game. You've already seen me with my mask off."

"Fine," she huffed. "I dare you to take your mask off and leave it off for the rest of the night."

Sakura watched in agonizing anticipation as Kakashi shrugged and reached up to slip off his forehead protector first. She felt as though she were engrossed in some smutty striptease as the act of revealing his face unfolded in slow motion. His hand disappeared beneath the collar of his shirt, pulling his face mask up and off from the bottom. He tossed both accessories aside on the couch, Sakura not even aware at first that she had stopped breathing from the first moment the mask had slipped clear of his head.

Though she had tried incessantly to deny it, she had longed every time she was in his company to see his face again since that fateful day he had first revealed it to her. Kakashi ran a hand through his hair, brushing back the loose bangs his mask had mussed into his eyes on its way off. Sakura felt like she may start drooling or something if she stared any longer.

"Okay, so, truth or dare?" he said, apparently unaware of the devastating effect his handsome countenance had on her.

"Um, truth," she replied, tearing her eyes away from his face and busying herself with her drink again. She figured that was a much safer route to take with Kakashi than dare, but then she realized it was a lose-lose situation with him since he was a pervert and would probably just ask her something sexually humiliating. Maybe she should have heeded his warning...

"Okay, I'll go easy on you this round. Tell me something I don't know about you," he said, leaning back and stretching an arm across the back of the couch.

Sakura thought hard for a moment. What _didn't_ Kakashi know about her? Sakura was aware of her tendency to wear her heart on her sleeve and she felt like there wasn't a whole lot Kakashi nor the people of Konoha didn't know of her personal life. Then, it came to her in a flash of brilliance. Of course. There was no way he could know this, could he?

"I have a tattoo?"

"Really?" Kakashi asked, genuine surprise registering on his enticing features. Sakura nodded, pleased that she had at least surprised him in one aspect. "Where?" he asked suspiciously, his eyes roving her body unabashedly as he leaned forward slightly. Sakura wagged a finger at him playfully.

"Uh-uh, that's two questions. My turn again! Truth or dare?"

Kakashi sat back again, looking slightly ruffled over not getting an answer out of her.

"I'll do truth."

"Really?" Sakura asked, her eyes lighting up. "You promise you'll answer with the total truth?"

"Those _are _the rules of the game," he replied, taking a swig of his beverage.

"Okay," she said smugly. "Who was the girl you fell in love with?"

Kakashi stared at her exasperatedly.

"This question again?"

"Come on, _please_," she begged, jutting out her bottom lip in a practiced pout that had earned her many victories with past boyfriends. He wasn't her boyfriend, though, she reminded herself. Sakura was grateful for the alcohol in her system because for once, she wasn't blushing at every little thought she had about the older man.

"I forfeit," he said, before downing the rest of his drink and heading for the kitchen to fix a new one.

"Oh, come on, you promised!" Sakura called after him. "You can get me back next round!" she added desperately, knowing that the hope of revenge was the only thing she could dangle in front of him.

_This better be worth it_, she thought as Kakashi emerged from the kitchen a minute later, a fresh drink in hand and his eyes sparkling darkly.

"Alright, then," he said, leaning on the doorframe, one hand in his pocket. "She was a coal miner's daughter, here in Fire Country. I met her on a mission. I was young and stupid and she was the first girl I'd ever had sex with. I fell in love with her but she betrayed me. The end."

Sakura stared at him unblinkingly.

"Really? Is that the truth?" she asked.

"That's the truth," he confirmed.

"I'm sorry," she said biting her lip. She could feel the renewed prominent pulse of the liquor in her system now as she mulled over the strange idea of a Kakashi vulnerable enough to have his heartbroken. "Where is she now? Do you know?"

Kakashi shrugged, staring into his replenished glass for a moment.

"Beats me. That was over twenty years ago, now. Like I said, I was young, inexperienced on the matters of the heart and body, and what I felt back then probably wouldn't even constitute as love today, more like just teenage infatuation."

"Somehow, I don't think so," Sakura replied lowly, swirling her drink contemplatively as she tried to imagine a young Kakashi, stricken with puppy love. "Anyway, it sounds like the old telltale chain of events," she said, knowing her tongue was flying a little looser than it normally did when she was sober. "Your heart got broken so you break every heart you encounter thereafter. And every heart you broke went on to break hearts of their own. It's a very sad world out there for romantic hearts."

Kakashi gave a small laugh at her drunken musing.

"I'm not sure I'd say that. I'm certain I've snapped more necks than I ever have hearts," he said fortuitously, but there was something distinctly sharp that hid beneath his light tone as he returned to the couch. "Anyway, enough about that. It's your turn to be uncomfortable."

Sakura deflated a little. _Shit_.

"So what it'll be, my sweet, naive friend? Truth or dare?"

Sakura steeled herself for what could possibly be coming. Dare would be better than truth, right? Maybe he would just make her do something stupid instead of asking her something burningly private like he did during their kitchen conversation from weeks ago. No, that was a dumb idea but truth wouldn't be any better.

Ugh.

No matter which way Sakura looked at it, Kakashi was going to find a way under her skin.

"Dare," she groaned at last.

"Show me your tattoo," he demanded so quickly Sakura knew he had been planning this since the moment she mentioned she had one. That bastard. Due to her sparse attire, he knew the ink could only be in so many places ...private places.

"No way," she replied, crossing her arms stubbornly. "I can't."

"Why not? And don't give me a lame excuse."

"I'm wearing a dress!"

"I said don't give me a lame excuse."

"Well, then, I just don't want to. There."

"_You _wanted to play the damn game," he reminded her lightly.

"_Kakashi_," she whined. "Don't make me."

"And I answered your stupid love question."

Sakura let out a huff. It was true. And she had said he could get her back. She let out a low groan, rising onto her knees and scooting across the floor so she was kneeling in front of him. Now she was really glad for the dulling effect of alcohol, knowing that if she were a hundred percent sober right now she would be hyperventilating about showing Kakashi some skin.

A tad clumsily, she turned around and reached her hand to pull the zipper down on the back of her dress. When she had made it midway down her back she pulled the top of her dress down to just above fully-exposing her chest so she could shrug her left sleeve down.

She waited with bated breath for Kakashi to say something. The room in front of her was swimming slightly and she knew she had been drinking her Kakashi-strength beverage too quickly. She was beginning to grow nervous from his silence but then she felt his fingertips at the nape of her neck, feather light. Miniscule chills waked over her body in waves. Gently, he gathered her rosy cascade of hair in one hand and draped it over her opposite shoulder. Goosebumps erupted across her skin as the fingers of his other hand traced along the swirling patterns of the cherry blossom tree that decorated her shoulder blade. His fingertip came to a halt on the little yellow bird, depicted in gorgeous detail on one of the tree limbs.

"A bonin white-eye," he murmured, naming the tiny avian creature. Sakura nodded wordlessly.

"Asami's favorite," she whispered, smiling sadly as she gazed through the walls ahead of her into a different time and place.

"It's beautiful, like you," he said softly, surprising Sakura somewhat. She shifted slightly on her knees, the flattery of the compliment enough to break through her buzz and cause a deep blush to heat her cheeks. She shivered as Kakashi's finger traced lightly down her spine. He paused momentarily when he reached her undone zipper halfway. Sakura's heart rate picked up and her insides tingled with excitement as he slowly began lowering the zipper more.

"Sakura," he murmured, leaning further over her so his warm breath stirred the loose hairs by her ear. The sensation sent a pang of longing through her and she pressed her body backward into his warmth.

"Mmm?" she responded softly, her eyelids fluttering shut as his fingers moved down her back.

"You have goosebumps," he undertoned, this time close enough that his lips brushed her ear as he spoke. The scent of rum and his masculinity were overpowering her and the room spun slowly when she opened her eyes in a daze.

"It's cold in here," she lied. Truthfully, her skin felt as though it were on fire as heat filled her every pore and the telltale of desire grew between her legs.

"Ah, well then, maybe I should just close this up..." he murmured teasingly, beginning to zip up the back of her dress again. Reluctant to break whatever heady spell was being woven between them at the moment, Sakura abruptly turned to face him on her knees. The suggestive positioning was not lost on either of the pair, Sakura's face flushing further and Kakashi looking startled but intrigued.

"Kakashi-sensei," she breathed, then winced when she realized she had forgotten to drop the honorific. She expected him to look put off by her mistake but instead his tantalizing lips twitched upward at the corner in amusement. Considering the situation, maybe he was getting a kick out of it. Once a pervert, always a pervert.

"Yes, Sakura-chan?" he asked, his tone a little too innocent. Her head still swimming, she placed an experimental hand on his knee. A tremor of excitement shot through her as she felt the muscles in his thigh tighten. Her tongue shot out to wet her lips as she raised herself on her knees a bit so their faces were more level. His mouth...those lips...they were so close now.

"Do you really think that?" she whispered, everything else seeming to fall out of focus except for Kakashi's slightly parted lips.

"Think what?" he asked throatily. She watched his lips move as he formed the words, her desire growing as the alcohol in her system spurred her hand a little higher on his lap. The haze in her brain made her think a moment before she remembered what she was asking him about. His entertained expression faltered a bit as her hand climbed.

"Do you really think I'm beautiful?"

Kakashi leaned close and murmured in her ear,

"Would I lie to you?" It was Sakura's turn to smirk.

"You have before," she countered, hooking a thumb playfully in one of his belt loops.

"Only in good fun."

"And this isn't good fun?" she inquired cheekily. Sakura thanked the heavens for liquid courage. It seemed as though her inner harlot had finally taken the wheel. She let out a squeak of surprise as Kakashi suddenly gripped her around the waist and pulled her smoothly into his lap.

"I never said that," he said eying her wickedly. Her breath hitched at the sudden body contact and she felt overwhelmed by their close proximity. It was always alarming to be so near to him, a man that had been off-limits for years for more reasons than one. The main one being that he had been her teacher for several. And now, here she was, _straddling_ him for God's sake. Panic was rising in her and beginning to blot out the lusty veil that was threatening to overtake her.

"Something the matter?" he purred in that throaty voice that he reserved only for times like these. Someone really had to tell him to stop using that tone with her. It did funny things to her insides.

"No...I just..." she trailed off, distracted momentarily by his hands still on her waist, steadily rising up her ribcage. The pressure and heat of his splayed palms burned a trail up her abdomen even through her dress fabric.

"You just..." he prompted, leaning forward enough to brush the tip of his nose against her neck. She felt his belt buckle push against her most sensitive place and she wished she were sitting a bit lower on him, suddenly desperate to feel the hardness of something else pressed against her.

"I...I, um..."

His hot breath on her neck and collarbone were turning her to jelly.

"I can't...ahh..." she stammered and groaned as he pressed three featherlight, surprisingly chaste kisses down her neck, but the anticipation of his lips on her skin made them feel something like explosive. She was so overcome by sudden arousal she couldn't breathe. That was it. She was done for. She couldn't even formulate an entire thought let alone string enough words together to make a proper sentence. Then, the Copy Ninja unexpectedly paused in his advances.

"Sakura," he said lightly, leaning up and looking over her shoulder.

"Wh-what?" she asked, her eyes coming into focus again. Anxiety crowded her thoughts when she saw the odd expression he wore.

"Are those...my underwear?"

Sakura went rigid. Slowly, she craned her neck around to sight, sure enough, a neatly folded pile of Kakashi's boxer briefs beside her laundry basket on the dining table. Humiliation instantly flooded her insides.

"Um, yes..."

"Ah. Okay," he replied after a moment. "Um. So, what're you-"

"-doing with your underwear? Haha! Good question, Kakashi-sensei!" she laughed a little hysterically as she wriggled backward off his lap and almost toppled over in her haste to stand again. "See, um, there were some clothes of yours left in the dryer- and I didn't see them when _I_ put my clothes in- and well, when they were done I brought everything over here to fold! And then, see, I found them when I was folding and...and- I swear I was going to bring them right back- And... oh my god, this is the most embarrassing moment of my life," she babbled, covering her flushed face with her hands.

There was a long pause and then Kakashi said calmly,

"It's okay, Sakura."

Feeling closed to tears in her mortification, Sakura shook her head.

"No, no, it's not okay!" she wailed.

"Really, it's fine-"

"No, it's not! It's not fine! _This_ is not fine!"

"This?"

"This!" she cried exasperatedly. She had never been good at expressing herself verbally even when sober and not utterly humiliated. "You! Me! _Your underwear_!" she explained, gesturing wildly between them and the stack of laundry on the table. The room was spinning again and she felt like fainting, probably due to all the blood that had rushed from elsewhere back into her head.

Oh god, what was going on here?! She almost let out a yelp when she looked down at herself, quickly yanking down her already short skirt that had ridden up from her former position. As the realization of what had almost just happened fully dawned on her, Sakura's stomach sank sickeningly. She had never felt more like the embodiment of the word 'tramp' until now, standing before her former teacher, hair mussed, dress undone, and skirt hem up to her hips.

"Sakura-" he started to say something, but she cut him off.

"I-I can't...I can't do this," she said, unsure if she was talking to herself or not. The room pitched and swayed and the feeling of nausea continued to expand in her stomach.

"Sakura," Kakashi said again and she saw him making to rise from the couch. She put out her hand to stop him, her other rising to cover her mouth.

"I...I'm gonna be sick," she managed to choke out before spinning around and sprinting to the bathroom. She barely made it to the toilet in time before she spilled her dinner and drinks into the pristine white bowl. She heaved and heaved for a long time until there was nothing left to throw up anymore and she lay panting across the toilet seat. She only vaguely remembered Kakashi's concerned voice through the bathroom door asking if she needed anything. The inebriated kunoichi couldn't recall exactly what she had said but he had returned a moment later to tell her he'd left a glass of water by the door. She hadn't had time to lock the door behind her but she was grateful the jounin knew her well enough not to walk in on her in such a state. After that, she heard nothing more from the man and she was sure he had left.

At some point, she had crawled to the bathroom door to retrieve the glass of water before falling asleep hugging the toilet bowl. Her last semi-coherent thought before finally passing out was that this night _had _to be in her top three of worst nights ever.


	8. Kamikaze

_A/N: Check me out! Two updates in just a few days? How awesome am I?! (you don't have to answer that) THANK YOU to all the wonderful reviews! You guys really know how to make a writer feel good about herself! :) Hopefully you won't think me too much more cruel after this chapter._

_-BCerise_

* * *

There was an annoying beeping noise coming from somewhere outside the office door. Faint as it was, it was drilling holes in Sakura's head. Pressing her palms into her eyes, she tried to resist the urge to beat her head against the desk or throw up the plain bagel she had forced down a half hour ago in an attempt to steady her stomach. This was one bitch of a hangover. She had made the classic mistake of mixing her liquors and throwing a few beers in the concoction of morning-after hell.

If she had been a less responsible sort of person, she would have just called out for the day. However, she was painfully ethical when it came to her job so here she sat, in the cramped medical records office going over monumental piles of paperwork. Currently, she wanted to grab all ten stacks of it and shove it down the hospital incinerator.

The door swung open and one of the medical assistants, possibly no older than eighteen, entered with a clipboard in hand.

"Sorry to bother you, Sakura-san, but Tsunade-sama came by earlier today. I forgot to pass on her message to you," she said apologetically.

_Great_, Sakura thought. Just what she needed: more work from the Hokage herself. The rolling chair squeaked loudly as Sakura leaned back in it, pinching the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger to help stave off the throbbing pain for a moment. She nodded for the tech to go on.

"Um, she told me you needed to check up on- ...hang on," she said, flipping through the pages on her clipboard briefly. "...what's his name... Oh! Here it is. She needed you to give a medical exam to Hatake Kakashi. Something about how he refused to be seen by anyone at the hospital, but you had had some luck with him in the past. Hey... Are you okay?"

Sakura had flushed bright red, embarrassing memories of the previous night crashing through her head in one violent, humiliating tidal wave. Of _course_ Tsunade would give her official orders to see the one man she didn't want to face at the moment under any circumstances; why would her luck allow her any different? And now he was going to have to get half-naked in front of her while she checked up on the injury the stupid, reckless man had earned himself.

"Seriously, are you alright? You look like you're gonna throw up," the tech insisted, taking a step forward. Sakura thought she might, actually, but she quickly waved a dismissive hand.

"No, no, I'm fine. Just woke up with a stomach bug this morning," she lied, batting away the loose strands of hair that had escaped her ponytail. "Um, thanks for passing on the info. I'll get on it as soon as I can."

"Okay," the assistant replied, making to exit but she paused in the doorway. "Hey, isn't Kakashi that one-eyed ninja? With the mask?"

Sakura sighed heftily. This was not her morning.

"Uh, sorta. He's not one-eyed. He has two eyes, one's just... evil," she replied distractedly, wishing desperately the tech would just leave already.

"Oh. Well, he's kinda sexy...you know, for an older guy. Like a silver fox or something! Anyway, have fun with that!" the girl said brightly before flouncing out of the room. Sakura stared after her, feeling sicker than ever. The kunoichi definitely didn't need to be reminded of this as she remembered all too vividly the delicious features of his face and the way his warm breath and soft caress alone had made every nerve in her body burn with primal need.

_Stop it!_ her brain screamed, trying to shut out the imaginary scenes of what could have happened last night.

Sakura was grateful when her cell phone buzzed with an incoming call, glad for a distraction from her X-rated thoughts. She was surprised to see a phone number she didn't recognize. She hit the answer button and cradled the phone between her ear and shoulder.

"Hello?"

"Yo."

Sakura's stomach dropped. What. The. Fuck. The odds were seriously _torturing_ her today.

"K-Kakashi?"

"Yep. Sorry to bother you at work, but my water heater's out. Would you mind if I used your shower?"

No. No, this was a joke. Sakura was positive he was doing this just to fuck with her as her mind immediately began to weave perilous images of his naked, muscled body, glistening under a stream of steaming hot water.

"Um, yeah, that's fine," she replied squeakily. She wanted to scream 'no', since she had enough trouble keeping the handsome jounin out of her dirty thoughts, but she couldn't forget all the favors and kindness he had extended her way in the past.

"Thanks. I'll just use the key under your flower pot."

Sakura blinked.

"How did you know about that?"

"How did you _not_ know I knew about that?" he replied. Sakura rolled her eyes at his flippancy.

"Hey, whose number is this? I know you don't have a phone," she said, the sudden thought occurring to her.

"A friend's," he replied easily.

Sakura was just contemplating saying something about the highly embarrassing night before when she heard a female voice respond in the background to his statement. Her stomach sank instantly.

"Oh. O-okay," she replied, swallowing hard and trying to pretend like she hadn't heard. "Well, yeah, that's totally fine. Talk to you later!"

She promptly hung up the phone without waiting for a response.

He was with a woman right now. Kakashi had a woman over. Or maybe Kakashi was at a woman's.

Either way, it made her heart pound somewhere in the pit of her gut. Why did the thought bother her so much? He had said she was just a friend.

_Oh right, Sakura. Like you don't know what that means._

Well, what else did you call someone you barely knew but had sex with and now you were using their phone to call your... what, other female friend? Neighbor.

Sakura had to remind herself that's all she was, really. Friendly neighborhood Sakura. Why she even imagined that Kakashi would think of her as anything else she didn't know. She didn't even know why she _wanted _him to think of her as anything else. He was a flirt and a philanderer and she was utterly childish. The urge to pummel the desktop with her head returned in triple force. Deep down, she wondered if that was what all of this odd behavior was really about. Did she want Kakashi to view her as something else? Sexy? Desirable? Grown? She wasn't a little girl anymore. Not at all.

So why had she been acting so like one during these past months in his company?

Without a second thought, Sakura hopped up from the desk and went in search of Ino on the hospital's third floor, ignoring the continuous thumping on the inside of her skull. Fifteen minutes later, she found the blonde outside an OR, flirting openly with one of the doctors.

"Hey," Sakura called out to her as she headed toward her down the hall. Ino paused in her giggling to look around, her face breaking into a bigger smile when she caught sight of Sakura approaching.

"Oh, hey Sakura-chan! What are you doing here?" she asked brightly.

"Well, you'll have to excuse me, ladies," the doctor spoke up, smiling pleasantly at the pair. "But I've got an appendix to remove."

"Oh, of course, Dr. Moshi! Well, you have my number, call me anytime you want to talk about your divorce. You know I'm all ears," Ino said, smiling sweetly at him before he disappeared behind the swinging doors, his gaze lingering on her for a moment longer through the round portholes.

"You have no shame," Sakura said, shaking her head at Ino.

"What? If you didn't hear, it's a divorce! If your brain was as big as your forehead you'd realize that means he will be _single _in the near future. His wife's a snotty bitch, anyhow, and you saw what a sweet puppy dog he is. Got a weakness for blondes, he says," Ino replied, fluffing her long flaxen locks and winking at a male nurse that passed.

"Uh-huh... Anyway, I wanna go out again tonight," Sakura replied, determination pounding fiercely in her ears.

"Really?!" Ino squealed excitedly.

"Yeah, I just wanna grab a couple drinks with the girls somewhere. Nothing too fancy."

Ino studied her for a moment and Sakura felt nervous suddenly. She was hoping her intentions of getting her mind off Kakashi weren't too obvious.

"Why? Did something happen with you and Kakashi?"

Dammit.

"What? No!" Sakura replied quickly. "Why would you think that?"

Ino shrugged though she was eyeing her scrupulously.

"No reason. You two just seemed awfully..._close _last night. I thought you guys were going home to do it or something. And now, here you are, eager to go out without him."

"No, _geez_, Ino. How many times do I have to tell you, we're just friends. Maybe I want to go out without him because I actually want to pick up a guy and not have his stupid ass interfere like last night!'

There. That sounded convincing.

"Hm. Okay. Well, I'll pick you up at eight! Dress hot, girl," Ino replied, blowing her a kiss over her shoulder as she walked away.

Feeling slightly calmer now that she had succeeded in making evening plans, Sakura headed back downstairs to concentrate more aptly on her paperwork. She swore the last thing on her mind tonight would be Hatake Kakashi.

* * *

Heading home after work and 'dressing hot' proved to be more difficult than Sakura had imagined. That being, the entire time she was in the shower, all she could do was imagine that Kakashi had been standing in the same spot, wet and naked, only hours ago. There were obvious signs he had been by, one being the razor that sat beside her sink and another the simple bar of spring green soap sitting on one of the bathtub ledges. Sakura had inhaled its scent shamefully, basking in the aroma that made her feel as though he were there with her. She recognized the smell from all the times he had come dangerously close to her, for both innocent reasons and not so innocent. It was overpowering and heady, enough to make her insides throb with longing as she stood naked under the hot rush of water, her head filled with the thoughts of her former mentor joining her in the close, heated space.

After struggling endlessly to stay focused on cleaning up, she finally forced herself begrudgingly from the steamy box of fantasies. She blow dried and curled her hair again before dressing in a short black, off-the shoulder dress. She then paired it with tall black and white pumps. For her make up, she did another smoky eye effect before applying a soft rosy shade of pink to her lips.

Ino showed up a little after eight, dressed in an equally scant outfit of a tight, short, waistskirt, heels, and a red, low-cut top. They headed downtown to the same bar they had been at last night, meeting up with Tenten and their civilian friend from the hospital, Kamiko. The quartet of girls gossiped and laughed together for a half hour or so, ordering drinks and two rounds of shots before deciding to move onto a dance club down the block.

Sakura bounced happily down the sidewalk, her arm looped with Ino's as they made their way toward Ice, Konoha's newest two floor nightclub. She could already feel her buzz kicking in, her cheeks burning warmly as they stumbled along through the chilly November weather in their short skirts. Kamiko and Tenten were walking arm in arm ahead of them, hooting and hollering raucously at any attractive man they saw in the crowded city streets,.

"Good grief, ladies! Control yourselves!" Sakura half-shouted, half-laughed as they trailed behind the rowdy pair. Ino was laughing hysterically, her own normally creamy countenance flushed with drink.

"They put _me_ to shame! Did you _see _that guy's face?" she gasped between gales of laughter.

Minutes later found them standing outside of Ice waiting for entrance, the pounding bass vibrating the concrete beneath them. The beat that poured through the open doors was mingling with Sakura's hearty buzz, working its way into her muscles and making her long to dance. Once they were inside and had shed their jackets at coat check, the four of them made a beeline for the bar. They wasted no time in ordering a round of Kamikazes, holding the little shooter tubes high in the air.

"Cheers, to being some sexy ass ladies! Let's get 'em girls!" Tenten whooped throwing back her shot as the other girls followed suit. Sakura watched hers change colors in the rotating neon lights for a moment, an odd feeling coiling in her gut before downing it. The tart fluid rushed down her throat, warming it and leaving a surprisingly pleasant, tingly aftertaste.

As she turned to toss away her empty tube, her eyes fell on a faintly familiar face standing among a group of three other men. She wasn't exactly sure who it was at first until he moved up to her smiling.

"Hey! Sakura!" he called over the throbbing music. It was the "pretty" boy from the bar last night. He was clad handsomely in a button up and fitted slacks, his hair combed neatly into that careless but styled look.

"Mitsurugi?" she called back, squinting slightly, unsure of herself for a moment.

"Close!" he laughed. "Mitsuru."

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" she giggled, giddy with alcohol consumption.

"It's okay!" he replied good-naturedly. "You look even more gorgeous than last night! I didn't think that was possible!"

Sakura smiled coyly at him as he smiled back rather dumbly. It made Sakura feel feminine yet powerful knowing she could have such a dazzling effect on men. Suddenly, Mitsuru looked concerned as he glanced around quickly and Sakura knew immediately what, or rather who, he was looking for.

"Don't worry, he's not here," she laughed, leaning forward a little unsteadily and resting a hand on his forearm. Mitsuru laughed nervously.

"Who?" he asked with an air of forced nonchalance, clearly trying to brush off how cowardly he had just looked.

"My neighbor!" she shouted back. Mitsuru raised a brow at her.

"He's not your boyfriend?"

"No, no, not at all," Sakura said, shaking her head. Even though she knew why the poor thing would come to that conclusion, the absurdity of the idea made her start laughing again. "He's just my asshole neighbor who _loves_ to cock block me when I go out!"

"Oh," Mitsuru called back looking enormously relieved before he switched on his charming smile again. "You wanna dance?"

Sakura nodded at once and he led her onto the pulsing dance floor. She passed Ino on the way who threw her an approving wink as she danced with two men. Sakura swayed her hips and rolled her body to the music, pleasantly surprised by Mitsuru's ability to dance. Most men were disasters on the dance floor and bumped along clumsily with their female counterparts, but Mitsuru worked fluidly with her, his body complimenting her every move quite nicely.

The kunoichi felt herself getting lost in the music, the bass thumping on and on, the multi-colored lights and strobes blinking dizzyingly over the mass of wildly thrashing bodies. She could feel perspiration pooling at her neckline as she worked her hips to the music, pressing feverishly against Mitsuru as his hands roved her body freely from her thighs to her waist. Countless songs and drinks later, Sakura's world was spinning. She caught glimpses of Ino and the other girls throughout the night, once even running into Tenten who appeared to be surgically attached at the mouth with a blonde man she had just met. As things on the dance floor grew hotter and heavier, it wasn't long before Sakura's lips found their way to Mitsuru's and soon they were all hands and mouths among the dancing throng of people. All of the ladies seemed to be pairing up, successfully reeling in their catches for the wild evening, so when Mitsuru murmured the idea of getting out of the club in her ear, Sakura slurred her consent.

She hardly remembered the short, hazy cab ride to Mitsuru's downtown apartment. He lived in a classy high rise in the city and Sakura wasted no time in drunkenly expressing how impressed she was by the building having a doorman. Mitsuru laughed with her as they tripped their way into the elevator, the receptionist eying them peevishly for the ruckus they were causing in the quiet lobby.

"I don't think she liked me very much," Sakura giggled, falling tipsily against the elevator 's back wall as the doors slid shut. Mitsuru punched a thumb on the number twelve button before turning and crossing the elevator to lean over her on the wall, wobbling slightly in his gait.

"That's okay, 'cause I do," he murmured, before taking her mouth up into a long, wet kiss. Sakura felt the floor lurch beneath her and they began to rise at a dizzying speed. The pair became so lost in their heavy make out session that they didn't even notice when the bell dinged, indicating they had reached their intended floor.

"Ahem," came a light voice from behind them. Sakura's eyes snapped open and Mitsuru stumbled off of her. A middle-aged woman was standing just outside the door, waiting patiently for them to vacate the cubicle.

"Sorry," Sakura whispered in a not-so-whispery volume, as the woman regarded them disapprovingly. They hurried past her, stifling their laughter and stumbling down the hallway to Mitsuru's apartment door. She only had a moment to admire the modern, loft layout and breathtaking view of the city lights below before they were kissing again, Mitsuru leading her blindly up the floating stairway to his bedroom. Their clothes were seemingly falling off along the way, Sakura stripped down to her bra and panties and Mitsuru shirtless and his belt undone by the time they fell onto the bed.

Though the room rocked uncomfortably, Sakura's body responded willfully to Mitsuru's touch, arching her back and pushing against him as his mouth moved to her neck. However, she couldn't help but notice the pounding of her heart for different reasons.

She wasn't used to hookups like these. Normally, before she had sex with a man they had at least been out on an official date. But this...this was merely a one night stand, an act that Ino partook in on a regular basis and one Sakura never thought she would. Mitsuru must have sensed something was wrong because he had stopped kissing her. He was looking down at Sakura, breathing heavily and looking concerned, a hand on either side of her head on the feathersoft mattress.

"If you're not comfortable with this, we can stop," he said softly. Sakura felt a rush of gratitude, respect even, toward the kind stranger, but she didn't want to stop now. She could do this. She was a big girl. And besides, she was still _really _fucking horny after all of the foreplay of the evening.

"No, no, I'm fine. I'm sorry," she breathed before grabbing his collar and yanking him down into a messy kiss. She raised her legs to clamp her thighs around his hips, feeling the pressure of his erection on her sensitive center. Though she let out a pleasurable moan when he ground himself against her, she knew deep down, the real reason she was so on edge as she fumbled with his fly. She couldn't help the way an image of another face flashed through her liquor-riddled mind. A beautiful face, with two different eyes and silver-hair. A face that was supposed to be the last thing on her mind tonight.

* * *

_Footnote: Don't haaate meee. It had to happen..._


End file.
